The Invaders The Beginning
by Claira McGarrett
Summary: Claira Morran is just a curious kid who, while on a school trip, accidently walks in to a alien landing site and stupidly gets herself noticed and in big trouble. David Vincent just happens to hear about the alien landing and visits Claira.
1. Chapter 1

**The Invaders**

**In the beginning….**

A school bus pulls over to the side of a long road to allow the children and teachers a chance to stretch their legs and relax before heading back to their school.

Two children decide to take a longer walk than the others and move through some bushes into a big field.

The child lagging behind now stops.

"I think that the bus is well out of sight, Claira, we better head back." The child said looking back.

The other child stopped.

"I'm not going back to the bus just yet. Come on, what's over here?"

"But, the bus, Claira, if it goes without us. We're miles from anywhere here."

"We'll be back in plenty of time. Are you coming or what?"

"Well, okay." The child said catching her up.

They carried on walking through the field and started to hear this high-pitched whining noise in the distance.

"What is it?" The other child asked.

"I don't know. It's coming from that other field, come on."

"Claira."

"You want to know what it is, don't you?"

"Yes, but?" She looked back.

"Well."

They carried on to the other field and stared at a space ship landing right in front of them.

"I'm going back." The kid said getting scared.

"No, wait, look. There are people inside it, their, wow, this is brilliant. Do you know what this is?" Claira said looking on

"I don't want to know. I feel sick." The child said looking away.

"My comic books have thousands of pictures of these things in it and now we're actually witnessing a space ship landing. Come on, we've got to say hello, or something."

"No, Claira don't!" Her friend said holding her back.

They watched the aliens move round the base of the ship. Claira moved to get a better view and made a twig snap. The aliens now noticed her.

"Erm, hi, hello." Claira said looking at them.

"Get those kids!" The leader said staring at them.

The other aliens now grabbed their weapons and pointed them at the children.

Claira noticed their hands as they started to run towards them.

"Claira, I don't like this." The child said watching them head for them.

"Come to think of it, neither do I. Lets get the hell out of here."

The kids now bolted and started to run back towards the bus.

"Claira, they're gaining on us."  
"Don't look back, just run!" Claira said running through the trees.

"Did you noticed their hands, they…."

Claira looked at her and nodded.

"There's our bus, quick!" Claira said spotting the bus through the trees.

"Well, it's about time. We were going to give you up." Their teachers said watching them jump on.

The bus now drove away as the aliens reached them. Claira stared at them from the back seat. They could now see the space ship rise into the air and start to follow the bus into town and back to their school.

"Claira, what are we going to do? It's followed us into school."

"What can we do? As long as we keep this to ourselves no-one will be any the wiser, get it."

Her friend stared at her as the space ship flew away.

David Vincent soon got word about the landing and headed into the town. After making a few inquiries he found himself in the school grounds talking to Claira's friend who was with her that evening.

Claira walked out of class to see her friend talking to David and tried to slip away.

Her friend now noticed her.

"Oh, here she comes, hey Claira, over here." Her friend said waving her back.

She shyly walked up to them.

"Miss Morran?" David asked.

She looked up.

"Yeah, who wants her?"

"My name is David Vincent. I'm investigating the sighting of a UFO in this area last week."

She now looked at her friend.

"Thanks, thanks a lot. I thought that this was our secret."

"Claira, he knows about these things, the, things we saw."

"Things? They weren't things, they were like us, except for…" She looked at David's hand.

"No Miss Morran, I am not one of them."

"I'm just checking, they, they looked like they meant business when they followed us back to our bus."

"They do, mean business, I mean. That's why I am here. Have you told anyone else about your encounter with them?"

"No! I haven't even told my parents and I tell them everything."

"And nothing has happened out of the ordinary since you last week?"

"Well, like what?"

"You tell me? Have you been followed, noticed anyone new around here?"

"Who, apart from you?"

"Claira, he's here to help us." Her friend said looking at her.

"I don't need any help. I'm late for my bus, excuse me."

David stopped her.

"Maybe we could talk again, tomorrow sometime. I'm here all week."

"Is that so?" She said looking at him.

"I'd be very interested in hearing what you saw that evening."

"Ask my ex friend here. She was with me." She said walking away.

"Claira!" Her friend now looked at David. "I'm sorry Mr Vincent, she's not really this terse."

"No, it's quite alright. As I said, I'm here for the rest of the week. I'll get to speak with our Miss Morran again." He said moving away.

That evening Claira walked home to find a black sedan parked outside her parent's home. She walked in through the back door to see two aliens using a device on her parents.

"Mum, dad, nooooo!"

"Grab her." An alien said.

An alien picked her up and she struggled to get free.

Claira watched as her parents were led away and two aliens now walked in looking just like her parents.

"Mum, dad…" She said looking at them then noticed their hands.

"That's right, their your mum and dad. Now, are you going to be a good girl for them? We know that you met with Mr Vincent today, yes?"

She looked at them then nodded to the alien.

"If you don't want to end up where your parents are going then I suggest that you listen to me and listen good." The alien said now moving forward using the spinning device on her. Claira had no choice but to look at it. "You stay away from Mr Vincent, do you understand me, Claira?"

She slowly nodded.

"Good, I'll leave you to your parents. You know what to do."

The aliens now left and Claira stared at her alien parents in front of her. She now ran off to her bedroom and started to cry.

The next morning Claira jumped off her school bus to find David waiting for her.

"Good morning." He said stepping up to her.

She stared at him then carried on walking.

"Here, let me take your books." He said attempting to take them from her.

She pulled away.

"Thanks, but they're not heavy, excuse me." She said walking on.

David followed her.

She now stopped and looked back.

"What are you still doing here, Mr Vincent?"

"I thought that we could talk about your encounter with the space ship and the aliens you saw, last week."

"My friend was with me, didn't you ask her?"  
"I did, yes, but…"

"But, what, Mr Vincent?"

"David."

"Ha?"

"My name is David, your Claira, right?"

"Yeah…" She walked on.

The bell now rang.

"Maybe we could carry on this conversation at break, yes?"

She stared at him then looked down and nodded then walked off.

As soon as break started David was with Claira. They sat down under a large oak tree as Claira had her sandwich.

"Do you want to tell me what you actually saw last week." He said looking at her.

She jumped up.

"Nothing!"

He stared at her. She now sat back down.

"Claira, I'm on your side here. I've also seen one of their ships."

"You have?" She said moving forward.

"Oh yes. I got lost one night, I was tired, but I know what I saw."

"Same here Mr Vincent, I saw a space ship land and the aliens that walked out of that ship, they, their hands, they," She now looked at her hands.

David took hold of them.

"No Claira, your not an alien." He said smiling.

She looked at him then thought about her parents.

The bell now rang.

"I've got to go."

"I know. I'll be here later, if you want to talk."

"Yes, I… I'd like that, thanks." She said then ran off.

The aliens watched from behind the fence as Claira run in and David walked off.

That evening Claira walked out of school to see David waiting for her.

"How about a ride home in a nice warm car instead of a draftee old bus, ha?" He said opening the door.

"My dad's got one of these makes, does this have lumpy seats?"

He looked at her.

"I don't think so. I've not had it long enough to tell."  
"It probably has, they all have." She said getting in.

"I'll buy a cushion for my next passenger." He said closing her door and got in to drive away.

"Is there any chance I could meet your parents?"

She looked at him.

"Why? I haven't told them about my encounter, why would you…?"

"They may ask how you got home today, that's all."  
"No, they wont, believe me, it's best if you don't meet them, please, I,"

David looked at her.

He soon arrived and pulled up outside her parent's home. David noticed her father on the driveway.

"Well, there's your father. I could just say hello. Reassure him that I didn't kidnap you."

"No!" She said then got out and went to her father.

David got out and noticed his hand. He looked back at Claira with him.

"Dad,"

"Claira, stop!" David said running up to her to pull her away.

The alien stared at him.

"Claira, what did we tell you about Mr Vincent?"  
She looked down.

"Let my child go Mr Vincent. You don't want to cause a scene, out here, do you?"

David now took out his gun and pointed it at Claira's alien father.

"What do you want with her?"

"We're just keeping the status quo Mr Vincent, now if you just get into your car and drive away, I'll deal with my daughter here. Claira, take my hand." He said holding out his hand that showed her exactly what he was.

Claira stared at it.

"Now, Claira."

David stared at her as she went to him and slowly took his alien hand.

"I suggest you get in to your car Mr Vincent."

A black sedan now arrived and two more aliens got out.

"Now, Mr Vincent."

He looked at him then Claira in tears. He knew that at that stage he couldn't do anything without causing a scene.

He was now grabbed and forcefully put into his car and he drove off looking back at Claira as he went.

The sedan followed him to the edge of town. David now turned round and pulled over and ran into the trees.

The sedan pulled off and the aliens followed. David went through the undergrowth and was soon surrounded by the two aliens. He now had no choice but to fight with the aliens and managed to overpower them and eventually kill them and watched them turn red.

David ran back to his car and drove back into town.

Claira's alien parents now used the device on her again as they gave instructions to her. David screeched to a halt outside and burst through the back door firing at her parents who now disappeared in a flame of red.

He stared at Claira in a trance. He picked her up, put her in the back of his car and drove out of town into the night.

Claira came around some hours later and jumped up from the back seat.

"Mum, dad!!!"

"Hey, easy." David said now pulling over.

She moved to the front seat and looked at him.

"How do you feel?"

"Confused. Where am I?"

He looked at her. "Your safe, that's all you need to know at the moment."

"Safe? My mum and dad, where?"

"Claira, they were not your parents, they were aliens made to look and sound like your parents because you witnessed an alien landing last week."

"I know, but what did you do to them?"

He looked at her. "I killed them."

"Killed them? My mum and dad, you…?"

"Claira, didn't you just hear what I said, they were not your parents, they were aliens."

She looked at him. "What's happened to my real parents, Mr Vincent?"

He turned away.

"I'm not sure but if past experience means anything here I'd say that they're most probably dead by now."

She felt a tear in her eye and wiped it. "Dead… my parents, dead, no…!"

"Claira, I'm sorry but the aliens don't take prisoners, we're not dealing with the Iraqis' here, this is a whole different ball game.

"A whole different war, you mean." She said looking at him.

He nodded then looked at the road ahead.

"I need some gas. There should be a truck stop around here, somewhere."

"Well, where are you taking me?"

"Back to my place. You can stay with me for a while until I can get things sorted out. Do you have any immediate family?"

"No, it was just my mum and dad. My grandparents died last year."

David looked at her. "I'll have to work something out."

"Where do you live?"

"Well, for the time being in a hotel, I'm between homes at the moment because I've been working twenty four seven on searching for the aliens."

"Serious hobby for you then."

"Very serious." He said looking at her.

They eventually found a truck stop and David filled up for the rest of the journey. Claira moved into the café and sat down.

"Can I help you love?" A waitress asked holding her order book in front of her.

"Hurh? Oh erm, I'll have a coke, thanks."

"One coke that will be sixty cents." She said handing her a glass and a bottle of pop.

"Sixty cents…um, erm…" She said checking her empty pockets. "Damn, I mean, dad, my dad has my pocket money today. I'll just go and get it." She said running out to where David was filling up.

David watched her move around his car.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine, I erm, I ordered myself a coke in there and the lady wants sixty cents. I came out with nothing…" She said looking down.

He looked at her and smiled. "Obviously. Did you order me a coke, I just might be thirsty too…"

"No, I didn't, I…"

He took out two dollars.

"I want the change, Claira."

"Sure, thanks." She said then ran in.

He watched her go then paid for his gas then moved into the café and sat down next to Claira who was sipping her coke.

"Is diet alright? I mean I don't know what you like."

"Diet is fine, thank you." He said pouring the contents into the glass.

They were soon back on their way. Claira fell asleep in the back seat but soon woke up as the lumpy seats got to her.

"Dad, when are you going to sort these lumpy seats out? I can't sleep like this." She said while still sleepy.

David looked at her via the mirror but did not answer her. She soon fell back to sleep again.

David arrived at his hotel as dusk fell. He looked back at Claira sleeping.

"Claira, wake up!" He said shaking her.

"Hurh? Mum, dad?" She said now focusing in on David. "Oh, Mr Vincent, I'm sorry."

"There's no need to be. We're here."

"Here?" She said looking around.

"My hotel."

"Oh, alright." She said then got out and followed him in and up to his room.

"I have a small room in the back. You can bunk in there for a while."

She looked at him then moved back to it and looked around.

"I guess it will have to do."

"I'll get some dinner on for us."

"Thanks."

Claira sat down and immediately turned the tele on. David looked at her and smilled as he shook his head.

After dinner Claira looked around the rest of the room.

"How do you survive like this?

"You get used to it."

"I don't think I could."

"Claira this is just a temporary situation, when I get some money, get a few things straightened out things will get better."

"What do you do besides searching for aliens?"

"Well, I am an architect."

"A, a…" She said trying to repeat what he had just said.

"In more simpler terms, I build and design buildings in large towns, sky scrapers, that sort of thing. Not many sky scrapers go up around here."

"So, how do you survive?"

"I have an understanding boss. He sends me subs now again and I send him some input when I can."

Claira looked at him then moved away and noticed some newspapers.

"Why all the newspapers?"

"Information. That's how I find out about the aliens."

"Hurh? Do you mean they advertise?"

"No, I mean I scan them for anything interesting. How do you think I came to hear about your encounter?

"I don't know." She said looking away.

"Never throw anything away, remember that." He said looking at her.

"I think I might get some sleep."

"Are you sure? You had enough in the back seat of my car on those lumpy seats you complained about."

She looked back and stared at him.

"I'll remember to by some cushions for my next passenger. Goodnight Claira."

"Night." She said then went into the back.

She moved to a small dirty window and looked out.

"Mummy, daddy." She said then started to cry.

She cried herself to sleep with David listening by the door.

Claira settled in to a life with David moving from hotel to hotel, town to town searching for alien activity as they went.

She was watching the tele when David ran in one evening.

"Claira!"

"What?"

He moved in front of the tele.

"Read this."

"Hey, David, I was watching that."

"This is more interesting." He said handing her the paper.

She now focused in on it and jumped up.

"That's a space ship."  
"A-ha, crash landing."

"Where? She said checking the small print.

"Wyoming." He said going to the back to grab his case.

"Wy, that's three states away, da, David!" She said correcting herself before he realised what she had said.

"Yeah. If we leave now we could be there by morning."

She looked back at the hotel surroundings.

"But, home…."

"We can get another hotel closer. Grab your bag."

They were soon on their way.

Claira studied the map.

"Do you know where to go?"

"Claira just relax will you. I've been at this a little longer than you."

"Relax, in these seats?

David looked at her then they started to laugh.

David arrived at the town as the sun rose over the yardarm. Claira woke up as he pulled up at a hotel.

"This has rooms. You stay here I'll go check on what their like."

She watched him go then looked around.

David came out and grabbed the bags.

"Are they alright?"

"Perfect. Come on, I want to get up to the crash sight after breakfast."

She jumped out of the car and followed him up.

They soon had breakfast and then David drove out to the crash area.

The place was a hive of activity with camera crews everywhere.

"You better stay here kid, this might get hairy." He said getting out and heading towards the crowd of reporters.

Claira looked out from the car then noticed someone suspicious. She now realised that he was an alien. She stared at his hand.

"Dad, no David! Dam, he can't hear me from in here." She said as she now opened up the passenger door and climbed out.

She followed the alien back towards the wreckage and watched him going through it.

"What are you doing away from the others?" A security man asked her.

"Erm, um."

The alien now looked up and over to them.

"What's going on?"

"This kid here, she followed you up."

"Did she now. What's your name, kid?"

She stared at him.

"Claira, Claira Morran."

"Are you with the press pack?"

She now noticed his hand again.

"No, I'm with my dad and he knows all about you, he knows who you are."

"Who's your dad?"

Claira stared at the alien.

David looked past his car to see the men with Claira. He moved up to them

"Claira?"

The now alien recognised him.

"Deal with it."

"Gladly. Come on kid, down you go."

David ran up to them.

"What's going on here?" He said.

"I found her by the crash sight. Yours I suppose?"

Claira looked up at David for a favourable response.

"No, we're just travelling together."

She now looked down as a tear came to her eye.

"I'd appreciate it if you kept a tighter reign on her in future."

"Don't worry, I will. Come on Claira." He said taking her hand and leading her to his car.

She got in and watched him get in.

"What are you playing at? I thought I told you to stay in the car."

"But back there…"

"What about back there?" He said lighting up a cigarette.

"That other man, he was an alien. I saw his hand it was like the other aliens, David."

He looked at her.  
"Well, why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to but as we're only travelling together, I thought, what's the point?" She said looking away.

"Claira, it was all I could think of at the time. All right, well we can't do anything now; we've caused enough trouble as it is. They must be on to us. We'll have to wait till dark; hopefully the aliens will have the same idea. Good work Claira."

She now looked up and smiled at him.

That evening David drove back into the area.

"Okay, I'm going to check that craft out. I want you to stay here and no wandering off Claira Morran." He said looking at her.

"Moi?"

He watched her then left.

Claira soon got bored and got out of the car for a breath of fresh air. She noticed another car pull up and a man get out heading towards David from the other end. Claira looked out for David but could not see him. She now followed the man and soon realised that it was the alien. She stayed low so that he did not see her. She watched him enter what was left of the craft and take something from it. As he came out he noticed her and managed to grab her.

"You again!"

"Let me go."

"Alone again ha? Where's your daddy?"

"Over there, he, he…"

The alien noticed him heading back. He took out his device and used it on her.

David moved back to his car and noticed it empty.

"Claira!" He said then looked around.

Claira stared into the device.

"You just keep your daddy nice and sweet and nothing will happen to you."

"The ship, it's, it's…."

"It doesn't concern you, your father neither. I've collected what I needed, you were too late, as usual."

"Claira?" David said from behind.

She broke free from the light.

"Dad, it's the alien, he's here!" She said shouting back.

David stopped with the words hitting him like a sledgehammer.

The alien now ran off. David caught sight of him and took out his gun and shot him. They watched him burn up into the night.

Claira now ran to him and hugged him.

"Is that how they…?"

"That's how they die here on earth, yes." He said explaining this to her.

"My parents must have gone the same way." She said looking down.

He looked at her then put his gun away.

"What was he after?" She asked looking at him.

"I don't know, he just said to me that he had collected what he wanted then he used that thing on me." She said hiding her head in his chest.

"Alright, lets get you back to the car."

She stopped and looked at him. David now turned back.

"What?" He said looking at her.

"Back there I, I said…" She looked down.

"I know, I heard." He said smiling and taking her hand.

"I'm sorry I… David, but he was using that, that…" She shook her head.

David held her. "Forget it Claira, I know you miss your parents and with seeing the aliens again and what their capable of…."

Claira looked at him.

"Just don't make a habit of it." He said then kissed her.

She went back to sleep on his lumpy car seats.

David looked at her sleeping then went for a walk to think about the things Claira had said.

The next morning Claira and David joined the press queue for their usual ration of processed breakfast. They sat back in the car munching their meal.

"They're going to be taking the remains of the craft away today."

"I can't understand why the aliens are not here trying to cover this up or, or something." Claira said looking at him.

"Maybe as that alien said to you last night, he had collected what he had come for."

"But he died taking whatever it was with him. If that is the case then we also have nothing to work on either."

"A crashed craft is good enough for the boffins around here, wouldn't it suffice you?"

"Not as much as an intact one."

"Oh well, excuse me, Miss Morran, now who's the expert?"

She looked away thinking about what he had just said.

Claira threw her rubbish away and noticed a black sedan now entering stage left.

She looked back to see David talking to the press pack. She now noticed two aliens get out of the car and head over to the security guard that had grabbed her yesterday.

The aliens now walked up to the craft.

Claira moved to the guard.

"Erm, hello again."

"You! I thought that I made it pretty clear yesterday that you weren't welcome up here."

"What's going on up there? The place is being cleared today."

"That's right and those men are clearing it."

"Those men, but their…" She looked at them then back at David. "I've got to tell my dad, their going to clear the site."

She ran to David who was hip deep in the middle of an interview. She moved around them.

"Excuse me, I have to speak to Mr Vincent."

"Yeah, join the queue kid."

"No, you don't understand, he's my… David!" She was jostled from side to side. "He can't hear me. Dad, the aliens are clearing the site of the craft!"

The whole area now fell silent as they turned to look at Claira.

David looked down at her.

"Claira, what?"

"There's no time to explain dad, look!" She said pointing as the aliens cleared the area.

"Get down!" David said grabbing Claira as the mangled remains of the craft disintegrated into the air.

The press pack soon ran up there but as usual the whole place was clear.

Only the charred edges remained.

Claira moved around the edges as David walked up to her.

"Claira." He said looking at her.

She turned back to face him.

"Dad, how, I mean,"

"You mean, what?"

She looked down then quickly hugged him.

"I'm scared daddy, I don't know what to do."

"Well, you seem alright when it comes to dealing with the aliens."

She looked at him.

"Your, but, your with me."

He looked down at her.

"Yes, I'm with you. It looks like I'll always be with you."

She looked at him.

"David?"

He pulled her round.

"Oh, so now it's David. Feel free to go back to calling me Mr Vincent…"

"I don't understand."  
"Yes you do. You need me Claira and in a way I guess I need you."

"Dad?"

"That's more like it." He said now holding her. "I'm here for you darling, as your father, if you want me." He said looking at her.

"To help fight the aliens, together?"

"As a family, yes."

"A family? Like mum and dad…." She said looking away.

"Well, I don't expect you to forget them, do I?"

She shook her head and then allowed David to hug her again.

"Come on, let's get you home."

They walked back to the car and got in. Claira looked to the back seat. She now looked at David who was looking at her.

"Dad…"

"Yes, Claira."

"About the back seat."

"Alright, I'll buy my daughter a cushion. Anything to keep my child happy." He said kissing her.

They now laughed as he pulled away.

THE END


	2. Chapter 2

**The Invaders**

**Flashback**

Snow had settled before Christmas that year. Claira was being more of a hindrance to David by making a snowman right on the driveway as he tried to clear a path.

"There you go, Mr Snowman, just a carrot for your nose and an old scarf and you will be complete." She said contentedly.

David looked up and down the path to the giant snowman.

"Claira!"

She spun round. "Hurh?"

"That's right on the driveway."  
She looked around.

"Oh yeah, it is. Sorry daddy, I didn't notice."

He shook his head and tried to carry on.

She looked at the snowman and was soon reminded of the last time she made one. She looked at David struggling with the snow then cautiously moved up to him.

"Erm, dad…"

"Aren't you going to clear that?" He said pointing.

"Well, um, erm."

"Claira, it can't stay there. How am I going to get the car out in the morning once the ice has got into it tonight?"

She looked down.

"Sorry, I'll, I'll go clear it, sir." She said slowly walking away.

He watched her go.

Claira moved back to the snowman and thought to herself. She turned back to see David going into the house.

A few minutes later she walked in the back door to find David warming up some milk.

"Do you want a cup?"

"Yeah, thanks." She said sitting down on the kitchen stool.

He moved over to the window and noticed the snowman. He looked back.

"You couldn't bring yourself to do it, ha?" He said making sure she saw what he was looking at.

"What? Well, no, you see, it kind of reminded me of the last time I made a snowman. Do you remember, dad, it was just after our first Christmas together."

"Oh yeah, I remember now. You were still not sure what to call me in those days. Dad, David or even, heaven forbid, Mr Vincent." He said looking at her.

She nodded.

"We were investigating that landing, you remember, the one we knew the aliens would return to."

"I remember alright. It snowed all night and the next morning we had to bail the car out."

"Yeah, I remember that."

He looked at her.

"Yeah, and…"

She stared at him.

"You really want me to say, don't you?"

"A-ha."

She looked down and sighed.

"Alright. I guess that you really bailed the car out because I was busy building another snowman."

"Thank you, at least you're honest."

She soon finished her drink and moved over to the sink where David was standing.

"I also seem to remember that it was where you told me about the time you made a snowman outside your parents home." He said looking at her.

"A-ha, that's correct, yes." She said then turned away.

"I can see that your just remember that time. Anyway, that was a long time ago now…"

"I was five, nearly six!" She said firmly.

He looked at her.

"Mum and dad helped me make him, the snowman and not on the driveway, either."

"Well, that's good to hear."

"That was a big snowman, well at least bigger than that one out there now."

She now looked up.

"Oh, dad, I'm sorry, I keep forgetting. I've already told you this story, when we were stuck in the snow that Christmas…

"And subsequent Christmases after that, now including this one. I really don't mind darling. I can't make you forget your parents, it wouldn't be right."

She looked down and moved into the living room and sat down quietly.

He watched her go then looked back at the snowman and decided to leave it.

Later that afternoon Claira put on her Wellingtons and coat and headed out to the snowman. The ice had already gotten into it as she started to reinforce the base.

"There you go Mr Snowman, as good as new. Mum and dad would be proud of me." She said smiling.

The phone now started to ring in the farmhouse. David walked out to the kitchen phone and answered it.

"Hello?" He said then noticed Claira out by the snowman. "Erm, yeah, I'm still here, carry on…." He added.

Claira pushed a little more snow up to the base of the snowman then noticed a pair of shoes beside the snowman. She stepped back and looked up.

"Dad."

"Good evening."

"Wow, is it evening already?"

"It is." He said checking his watch.

"How long have I been out here?"

"A good few hours."

"Erm, maybe I should head in then."  
"I think that that would be a good idea."

David followed her in.

"I had a phone call earlier."

"Oh, I thought that I heard it."

He looked at her.

"Don't tell me. The believers?"

He slightly nodded.

"Figures, they can't even leave you alone for Christmas!" She said sitting down in front of the fire.

"Claira, the aliens don't stop just because it's Christmas on Earth."

"I understand that dad, but the purpose of the believers is to investigate all sightings. Why do they have to pick on us when Christmas comes around again?"

"Well, maybe it's because they know that we're good at what we do."

"While destroying our Christmases in the process…."

"At least we're together doing what we like best." He said kissing her.

She looked at him then moved away from the fire.

He watched her go then noticed the snowman again and started to think to himself.

They had a quiet dinner and then settled down to watch the television.

David flipped through the channels, as Claira was relaxing.

The news soon carried pictures of a possible alien-landing site.

Claira now stared at the screen.

"Hey, what's that?"

He looked at her.

"Oh, so now your interested in what the believers are talking about this week."

"That's a landing site."

"I know."

"Shush dad, turn it up." She said fumberling for the remote.

They watched the camera zoom in on the area.

"That's a big craft."

"Not really, it's two landings."

She looked back.

"Oh, and how do you know that, Mister know it all?"

He threw her the folder.

"I just downloaded this from the believers website. Check it out sometime, Miss know it all."

She looked at him then moved back to the sofa and sat down.

"Good scoop or what?" David said watching her read it.

She decided not to look at him.

"Alright, I can take a hint." He said getting up and going to the kitchen to grab a beer and a quick smoke.

Claira eventually walked up to him and sat down on the stool.

"It says here that reports have been coming in about this site for over three months now. Local investigators have seen increased alien activity for the last week or so."

"Definitely a good scoop, I'd say." He said sipping his beer.

Claira read on.

"Interest has grown since a local TV network, WWZKZ actually filmed a ship landing. Well, why didn't they show it?" She said looking at David.

"Would you want to publicize something like that?" He said pointing to the folder.

"Yes, I would, and straight away, not, certainly not three weeks after alien activity was noticed by the believers."

David looked at her.

"Claira, we're talking about a small, local community here. Everybody knows everybody else. You go in there showing a landing to everyone they'll run you out of town before you got to the first house. Believe me, I know, from experience."

"Same here, I have been with you for some time now, dad."

"I bet everyone in that town will tell you that they didn't see a thing. Get it, blind."

Claira stared at him then grabbed the folder and moved back to the sofa.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play this one, okay. It's Christmas, we can spend it here, this year. You're right, there is no interest in this one. I see, blind." She said touching her head.

David watched her for a while. He now grabbed his beer and moved to the sofa and sat down next to her.

"Claira, this will be our third Christmas away from home. Don't you think that just one year we could relax and enjoy Christmas together, as every other American family does at this time of year?"

"Excuse me dad, but who contacted us this year like they have for the past two?"

"I know, but I have already put them off. I have told them that this year I am going to enjoy a quiet Christmas with my child while we entertain Father Christmas."

"Ha, entertain Father Christmas? Dad, you don't seriously believe that he exists, do you?"

He looked away.

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting, you don't believe in Father Christmas. Your parents drummed that out of you at an early age. Another fable told to kids by their parents."

"That's right, a tissue of lies." She said going through the folder.

He turned back.

"Told to you while you were busy making your first and only snowman with them before they were killed by the aliens, yes?"

She looked up and thought about her parents for a moment.

"Yeah, I suppose so, yes." She said wishing not to say anymore.

He stood up and moved away from her.

"Well, I really lost out over that one, didn't I?"

She looked up to see him go into the kitchen.

"What do you mean?"

"I was hoping that your parents hadn't have been so mean to a, well to a five year old child. They could have waited a year or two."

Claira now got up and went into the kitchen and up to him.

"A year or two? Dad, they would have been dead by that time. Where is all this leading us here?"

"To that snowman sitting outside on my driveway!" He said pointing out the window. "Why do you do this to yourself, Claira? To me?"

"Do what?"

"You can't keep blaming yourself for their death, Claira. They are dead and I am here and I love you as much as they did. I am your father, aren't I?"

She looked down.

David moved up to her and lifted her head up.

"Claira?"

She now hugged him.

"Daddy."

He closed his eyes as he held her.

"Go on. Go and grab your case."

"Ha? My case?" She said looking at him.

"Well, we are going to this site, yes?"

Claira stared at him then realised what he meant and again hugged him.

"Oh, thank you daddy." She said then ran off to her bedroom.

He watched her go then looked skyward.

"Why?" He said then looked back and smiled.

They were soon on the road and heading to the small town.

Claira looked around.

"The traffic is pretty light for this time of the year." She said making small talk to pass the time away.

"Well, of course. I bet everyone's at home with their children with the houses all a buzz with what Father Christmas is going to bring them this year." He said looking at her.

Claira stared at him.

"Yeah, like, right dad."

They both now looked away and David carried on driving.

Some hours later they arrived at the town and headed towards the site that was a hive of activity with camera crews and reporters everywhere.

"Here we are."

"Well, I had a funny feeling that we wouldn't be the first." David said looking on.

He pulled over and they got out.

"You better stay here while I go and check out what's going on. I have a funny feeling that once they find out we're here we'll get now peace all night."

Claira watched him head into the crowd.

She checked her pocket for some change and moved up to the catering truck.

David soon found her and joined the queue.

"I've met up with some more believer friends. They're going up to the site in a minute. Are you interested?"  
"Of course."

They walked up to them and climbed in the back of a station wagon and it headed up the path.

"I'm Carl Stevens. We first noticed the activity last month."

Claira watched her father shake hands with him then the attention was suddenly on her.

"Miss Vincent."

"Hi."

"I must say I'm surprised to see your child out here two nights before Christmas. I know that this must be a special time for you at the moment, Claira."

She looked at him.

"Oh, why?"

"Well, with the advent of Father Christmas tomorrow night. With the added activity around here, you might even get to see him flying across the sky with his reindeer while on his way to your house." He said beaming at her.

Claira stared at him.

"Oh, please, is that all you've got to talk about? Father Christmas, who doesn't even exist!"

"Claira!" David said pushing her back into the seat.

Carl looked at her then David who was staring at her.

They soon arrived at the site and they all climbed out.

"Claira." David said calling her back.

"Listen, back there. Carl was only making small talk. Remember what I said, a small community. We're a little bit out of place around here and your words regarding Father Christmas might not go unnoticed if you carry on."

She sighed.

"Alright, okay. I understand, sorry."

He kissed her.

"Mr Vincent?" Carl said behind him.

He turned round.

"If you wouldn't mind…"

"Yes, yes, darling." He said taking her hand and walking to the landing area.

"We've already had a soil test analysed. We detected carbon deposits all over this area."

Claira knelt down and touched the edges.

"This is two nights old." She said now looking at him

"Yes, erm…." Carl said moving aside.

"You were right about the two landings dad, but wait a minute"

"What? Have you found something?" David said kneeling down with her.

"No, stay there. Was there a landing in this area last night?"

"No! We have a twenty four seven watch on this whole area and we didn't see anything last night." Carl said.

Claira jumped up and looked around.

"That's odd, really odd." She said wiping her hands.

"Do you see something, Claira?" David asked.

"Maybe." She said then noticed the film crew. "The camera men. We're they here last night?"

"Yes."

"Could we see the film for last night."

"Why? As I said, there was no landing last night. The place was clear all night."

"If you wouldn't mind."

Carl looked at her then David.

"Don't look at me. If Claira has something then you better do as she says. She's like me in that instance."

They drove back to the film truck and climbed into the back.

"Have you got the tape for last night?"

"Yes, but it's blank, no screen." The engineer said pulling the tape out from its case and inserting it into the video player.

"Maybe to you, yes."

"What do you mean?"

David looked at Claira.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"We'll soon find out."

The tape played. They saw the blackness of the tape to show that nothing landed but then the tape flickered and lines now appeared all over it.

"They jammed your broadcast, hovered above the site and you were none the wiser." Claira said pointing to the screen.

The engineer stared at the screen.

"But, we had people all over the site. No one saw a thing all night."

"Wide open block out. They only had to keep it up for a few minutes. You must have all lost a few minutes in your lives." David said looking at them.

Carl now jumped up and went out.

"Sorry. Hopefully tonight we may catch something. We're here now. Lets see what they come up with." Claira said looking at the blank tape playing to itself.

Later that evening Claira and David walked back up to the site.

"Do you notice anything interesting around here?" David said looking around.

"Not really. Then again, look at the places we've encountered the aliens before. Not exactly picturesque."

"No, but this is out of the way, quiet, peaceful."

"Hmm." She said kicking the soil with he shoes.

"They would have finished with this site by now. I mean three weeks of this and then that video tape last night."  
"Yes, I'm starting to wonder what they can gain from this one site."

David watched her move around.

"It could cost us the holidays."  
"So, what's new?"

She looked back at him staring at her and gave him a fake smile.

They now walked back to the car and grabbed their sandwiches.

"The film crew are settling in for the night."

"Their double checking they don't record a blank screen this time." David said laughing.

Claira leaned back into the passenger seat and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Do you remember this time last year?" He said looking at her.

"Hmmm. You made hot soup and then promptly dropped the cup all over the front seat. The whole car smelt of chicken soup for months." She said looking at him.

"Thank you. Alright, what about the year before that?"

"Hey, now that was not my fault dad!" She said pointing at him.

"You read the map wrong and we ended up miles from where we were supposed to be that Christmas."  
"You downloaded the wrong map from the believers website, not my problem."

"Oh, no, of course not."

"Do you know, there worse than the aliens sometimes." She said looking at him.

Claira managed to get some sleep while David kept watch. He moved over to the catering truck that was doing a roaring trade. He noticed Carl then moved up to him checking his watch.

"It's too late now. They wont be coming tonight."

"How do you know all this? Your kid too…?"

He looked at him. David decided to leave him and walked back to his car. He got in and closed the door.

"Hmm, dad?" She said opening her eyes.

"Morning."

"What time is it?"

"Nearly four. They won't be coming tonight it's too late. The sun will be up within the hour. They'll probably chase Father Christmas tonight."

She stared at him.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny daddy."

He looked at her then allowed her to get some more sleep.

That day Claira joined David at the canteen queue for breakfast. She looked around.

"Christmas Eve."

He looked at her.

"Have you got any plans for today?"

"What, around here? No. Why, have you?"

"How about a nice long walk?"

She looked at her breakfast and nodded.

They were soon up at the site.

"There's no shelter around here. No cover. Do you think that this is one of their drop off centres? You know, the cars come in, they get off their ship, into the car, whisked away to a special alien training site?"

"Claira, we still haven't found any evidence of that fact."

"Oh, come on dad, it happens. The fact that we haven't got any evidence means nothing."

"I'm not disputing the fact, child, maybe they do have a safe house somewhere, but with no concrete proof we have to stick with level one, drop off."

She looked around.

"But, they could be all over the planet by now. Being us, being…"

"Parents?" He said looking at her.

She stared at him

"Now who mentions them?"

He looked away. He lit up a cigarette and moved up to her.

"Claira, we're supposed to be working together on this. I'm sorry if I have said anything,"  
"Look, forget it, dad. I can live with it, I have for three years already."

She moved away as a cold wind now came up behind them.

"Come on, the car will be warmer." He said leading her back down the hill to his car.

That evening Claira watched the other children playing in the town. She noticed the children's parents now collect them.

"Come on kids, early to bed tonight or you wont be able to see Father Christmas."

She stared at them run in then shook her head and moved back to David by his car.

"Hey, where have you been?"

"Watching the other kids in town. Their parents have just collected them. They got suckered with that old Father Christmas line."

"What Father Christmas line?" He said watching her.

"You must know. If you don't go to bed early tonight you wont catch Father Christmas in the morning, suckers."

"Claira." He said looking away.

"Oh come one dad, its so farcical."  
"You didn't say anything to the children, did you?"

"No, but I feel like I should. Someone's got to tell them Father Christmas doesn't exist."

"When there old enough to realise that on there own, they will."

"I remember dad saying once that if he really did exist then he would know us all, by name, personally. Father Christmas couldn't do all that, he doesn't exist."

"Claira."

She looked away.

"Yeah, okay. I'm going to sit in the car for a while."

He watched her get in.

The cameras were soon rolling and pointing at the open field.

Claira got some sleep but soon got restless and decided to take a walk around. She moved out past the trucks towards the hill.

David grabbed a cup of coffee from the crew while watching the screen.

Claira looked to the sky and thought about Father Christmas and what her parents had told her.

At that moment a space ship appeared in the sky and soon headed towards the hill where Claira now was. She quickly knelt down and watched it fly in to land. She looked back at the film crew who were at a safer distance than she was.

David watched the same scene from within the TV truck. He noticed the cars appear and head up to the craft.

Claira slowly moved back as she watched the aliens get out of the ship and into the waiting cars.

"Hey, who's that?" The engineer said focusing in on Claira.

David stared at the screen.

"That's my kid!" He said running out and up to the site.

The cameras now focused in on David trying to get to Claira.

At that moment the whole site was lit up as a lone truck drove in and screeched to a halt in front of Claira and the space ship.

The front flew open and a local man jumped out firing his automatic gun into the air.

"Aliens go home!!!" The man shouted firing at the aliens and the ship.

Claira watched them burn up right in front of her.

One alien climbed out of the burning space ship and headed towards her. He had got shot in the back but managed to make his way to her.

As he did he started to grow old as his regeneration seeped away. He started to glow red as he moved up to her.

"What, what is happening to you? Your different, you…." Claira said staring at him.

"Claira Vincent?"

"You, you know my name, you…."

"Yes, I know your name child, I know all your names, I, I'm…." At that moment he died and disappeared in a flame of red.

Claira knelt down.

"No, no! Come back, you!"

"Claira!" David said running up to her.

"Dad, daddy!" She said turning round to hug him.

"It's okay Claira, I'm here."

"Daddy, it was him. I know it was. He knew me he knew all of us. Dad once told me that if he really did exist he would know us know all of us. It was him dad, Santa Claus, Father Christmas."

David stared at her then the outline of the dead alien. He now led her away.

The TV crew now focused in on the burnt out hulk of the ship.

EPILOG

David grabbed some toast from the truck and watched the film crew pack away.

Carl walked up to him.

"So, you don't think they'll come back?"

"No! Would you after last night?"

"No, I guess not. Too bad, we were that close and some nut has to go and pull a stunt like that."

David watched him go then moved back to Claira sitting on the hood of his car with her eyes closed.

"Morning." He said kissing her.

She opened her eyes.

"Not morning daddy, Merry Christmas." She said now kissing him

"Ooops, stand corrected."

He lent on the bonnet watching her.

"Do you feel up to talking about last night, yet?"

She looked at him.

"What was all that commotion with the truck about?"

He looked away.

"Alright, if you're not up to talking about it, I can wait."

"My dad once told me that if Santa Claus really did exist that he would know you, me, everyone. I don't know dad, but last night he…." She said looking down and closing her eyes.

"So, he gives up the reindeer for their space ship, great trip. Welcome to the twenty first century."

Claira now looked up and jumped off the bonnet.

"Now who doesn't believe?"

David bit his tongue and finished his breakfast.

"Alright, so it might have been an alien, but dad, no alien has ever grown old in front of me like he did last night. He looked straight at me and he glowed red…." She said as she started to cry.

David watched her then moved up to her and held her. He now looked at her.

"He has his ways of delivering darling, so, just maybe…"

Claira stared at him then buried her head into his chest.

They were soon driving out of the town to enjoy the remainder of the Christmas holiday together.

THE END


	3. Chapter 3

**THE INVADERS**

**ABOUT A GIRL **

**Part 1**

David was working on a new building going up in a local area when there was a knock on the door.

"It's open, come on in." He said while checking the specs in front of him.

David heard the door open and then close again.

"Hello David, long time no see, ha?" A female voice said behind him.

David now spun round and stared at her. He then realised who she was and dropped the specs and rushed up to her.

"Joanne…!" He said then hugged her.

"Easy, I'm a divorcee!" She said smiling.

He stared at her.

"You haven't changed a bit."  
"Well, I wouldn't say that. I've been through a lot these last few months."

"What are you doing around here? The last time I heard anything about you was six months after college… you were still with your parents in, Michigan…?"

"A-ha, so I was…."

"But, that was six, nearly seven years ago. Where, what have you been doing since then?"  
"I got married, moved to Montana, hated the winters there and eventually left and moved down to sunny Utah. I thought that you were still in Chicago…"

"I was up until five years ago. I decided to look for work further a field, where the money was, a lot of things happened to me in the meantime and I've settled in Huntington."

"Married?"

"Regrettably, no." He said looking at her.

She looked down then quickly back up again.

"Wow, I would have thought a good looking guy like you would have had them queuing up by now."

"I've been saving myself."

"Who for?" She said looking at him.

They continued to look at one another.

"Look, I've got a break coming up. How about we grab a cup of coffee across the street and we can talk about old times ha?" David said grabbing his jacket.

"And new times, no doubt. All right, yes. I've got a window in my schedule."

"Great!"

They now walked out of the shed and across the road.

The coffee's soon arrived and they both grabbed the glass sugar container at the same time.

"Ooops, sorry…" Joanne said immediately pulling her hand away.

"No, ladies first."

"Well, alright, thank-you." She said grabbing the glass and dipped the spout slightly into the cup and started to stir.

David watched her hand.

"You took the ring off soon enough."

"Yes, well, there's no dwelling on the past, is there?"

David looked at her.

"No, I guess not."

"So, you finally became an architect. Something that you said you'd always aspire to." She said looking at him.

"Yes, I did, didn't I?"

"Had much business lately?"

"Not to make a living out of, no. I'm too busy being a parent at the moment."

"A parent? I thought you said that you wasn't married!"

David looked at her as she realised.

"I'm sorry… if it's too personal for you…."

"I have an adopted daughter."

"Adopted… oh, okay. It's funny, I just didn't, man, and you have changed in those seven years. I just couldn't envisage you…."

"A lot of water has gone under the bridge since you…." He looked away.

Joanne looked down.

"Look, David… I'm sorry I was young, foolish. It was just a stupid crush I guess…."

"It seemed more than that at the time."

"Everything does… It wouldn't have worked, David. Any of the plans we made would never have worked."

"You never hung around long enough for any of those plans to materialise. You accepted your parents offer to move away with them and I never saw you again until today. Now, you tell me you've been married which, as you told me, failed!"

"Do you think our marriage would have worked?"

David looked at her.

Steve looked at the clock in the kitchen as the headlights filled the room. He jumped up to see David walk in and moving into the kitchen to grab a glass and the bottle of whiskey.

Steve pressed the button on the wall that illuminated the kitchen.

"Evening."

He stared at him then swallowed the liquid in the glass.

"Someone get struck by one of your falling drawings?"  
"What?" David said staring at him.

"The reason why you're hitting the bottle tonight…? Something happen at the site?"

He moved passed him and sat down on the sofa. Steve watched him.

"I'll take that as a yes then." He said sitting down opposite him.

David stared at the open fire in front of him.

"Have you ever had a day when you thought that nothing worse could ever happen to you?"

Steve looked at him.

"Well, in this day and age you have to expect things to get worse before they get better."

David looked at him then got up and moved back to the kitchen.

"I was all set to finish early today, and my god, is this Casablanca or something?"

"Dad?"

Steve turned round to see Claira stumbling out bleary eyed.

"Hey, I put you to bed hours ago."

"I heard dad's voice. What's going on Uncle Steve?"

"To be honest with you darling, I'm not really sure. Your father was just about to tell me, I think." He said now looking at him.

David looked at Claira then turned away.

"Maybe you should go back to bed. I'll find out what's wrong with him."

Claira slightly nodded, looked at her father then went back to her room.

Steve moved around David and took his glass from him.

"Hey!"

"I was only going to fill it up. No point in you getting drunk alone, is there?"

He watched Steve head to the kitchen and he slowly followed to sit on the stool.

Steve watched him as he grabbed the whisky bottle and held it for a while.

"So…"

"Hurh?"

"Why would you come home and want to get drunk tonight for?"

He looked away.

"I met someone today that I haven't seen since, well since long before I ran in to Claira, four years ago."

"What's her name?"

"Hey, who said she was a she?"

"Call it alien intuition. Well?"

"Would you mind pouring that?"

"Later."

David jumped of the stool and moved round to him.

"Ah, so now you want to fight me for the bottle, hurh?

"Just pour!"

"Alright, alright. Anything to stop Claira running in here with all the noise your making." He said pouring out the bottle contents into the glass.

David grabbed it and moved back round to the other side.

"This someone you haven't seen since you were a young man with no dependents. Was she a girlfriend or something?"

David looked up from his glass.

"Something like that, yeah."

"Hmm, that would mean that it was serious. Serious enough for you to ask her to marry you?"

"Look, what do you care? All you want is the gory details."

"I'm just getting as much information out of you so you don't wake up with a hangover in the morning and another days work is lost to the bottle."

David looked at him then the glass and moved over to the sink and emptied the rest of the glass into it.

"Satisfied? He said looking at Steve.

Steve looked at his glass and swallowed it.

"Hmm, yeah."

David looked down and sighed.

"She would have been my wife. We'd, we'd set the date and she…" He now looked away.

"What's her name?"

"Joanne. Joanne Turner. She was the catch at my college and everyone thought that I had caught her, even me for a time. But, but I woke up one day and she was gone. No note, no phone call, nothing. I found out about six weeks later that she had moved away with her parents to Michigan."

"So, what's she now doing in Utah?"

"Relaxing after a messy divorce."

"Di,. She's divorced?"

"So it would seem, yes."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Make her an offer."

"I beg your pardon."

"Your both still young, five or so years down the line isn't going to make that much of a difference."

"Your forgetting one thing, Claira."

"Does she like kids?"

"I haven't asked her and I'm not about to, Jesus Steve, what do you take me for?"

"A fool! If that was me I would have jumped at the chance to, my childhood sweetheart, hmm, how romantic."

David stared at him.

"Out!"

"Hurh?"

"You have a house down the road. Don't de-value mine with your cheap talk."

"Cheap talk? What? David, what are you trying to say? I'm serious here. Have you got her number?"

"Why?"

"Well, if your not interested. What about me? Would she be interested in an adopted brother?"

"Go!" David said closing the door after him. He looked back and thought to himself for a while then went to bed.

The following Saturday the Vincent's all went out shopping and then stopped of at a local café. David watched the cars pulling in to the shopping centre then recognised Joanne driving up to a bay near to where they were sitting.

"Are we all finished?"

"Hurh?" Claira said looking round.

"With our drinks?"

"David, we've just ordered. What's the matter with you all of a sudden?" Steve said looking on.

"Nothing." He said then noticed that Joanne was heading towards them. "Erm, excuse me for a minute."

Steve jumped up.

"What is wrong with you? We're here having a nice drink and…"

"Hello David." Joanne said behind them.

Steve looked over to her.

"Erm, hello Joanne."

"Hmm, well now I understand. Please, excuse me." Steve said sitting back down.

Joanne looked at David then the family.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?"  
"No! We were just out shopping."

"Really?"

Steve now coughed.

"Yeah, erm. Joanne, this is my brother, Steven with his two children, Sarah and Annette."

"Hello, nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Joanne. My brother was only talking about you the other day." Steve said standing back up to shake her hand.

"Well, is that so?" She said looking at David now looking to his feet.

"He wasn't talking to me about her, Uncle Steve." Claira said looking at Joanne.

"Erm, darling. Claira, this is Joanne, erm." David said fumberling for words.

"She's an old friend of your fathers, right David?"

"Yeah, right, thank you Steve."

"Old friend? I don't remember her dad, how old is old?"

"Erm, look if you two want to talk some more, I could just take the kids round the mall for, say an hour or so." Steve said grabbing the children.

"No, no. It's all right Steve. David and I haven't much in common any way. We never did." Joanne said walking away.

"Wait, Joanne." David said following after her.

"Come on kids. Maybe that walk would be a good idea. I might just grab a cab for us too, as I don't think my brother will be following in the near future."

Steve walked away but Claira looked back wondering what was going on.

Joanne started to window shop and David moved up to her.

"I think we need to talk."

"Oh really, what about?" She said turning to look at him.

David stared at her.

"I thought so. You know, that's why I left you five years ago. You have changed David, but not in that department. You have a nice family, now why don't you just go home, play daddy and leave the relationships to the big boys and girls, ha?" She said attempting to move away.

He now grabbed her hand and pushed her up against a wall and started to kiss her. At first she resisted but then as she remembered the time that she had spent with him she allowed him to carry on.

Claira spent the evening at Steve's house playing games on the X box. She had a break in the game and looked at the time.

"It's getting to late."

"Hurh? Oh yeah, I hadn't noticed the time." Steve said adjusting himself in his seat.

"I meant regarding my dad."

"Oh, so you're the parent now. Well, when he arrives home you can ground him for the rest of the week, ha? No pocket money till he tells you what he's been up to all evening."

"Well, it would only be fair." Claira said turning off the game and moving up to him.

"Only be fair? Claira, your father is old enough and big enough to look after himself. Whatever he is doing tonight is of no concern to you or to me." Steve said picking her up and placing her on his lap.

"Five dollars says that you'll wean it out of him the minute he walks through that door."

"Claira Vincent, what do you take me for? Ten!" He said looking at her.

"Deal." She said shaking his hand just as the cars headlights lit up the living room.

Claira jumped down and ran out to the porch way to see David getting out of his car.

"Daddy!" She said running to him.

He quickly picked her up as he noticed Steve standing by the door checking his watch. He slowly moved up to him.

"Another minute more an I would have called out the search guards."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry Steve, I just lost track of time."

"Is that not all you lost track of?"

"Look, I better get this one home."

"It is late. You can sleep it off in the den, if you want."

"Ah, so you want the details, ha?"

"No. I'm on a promise."

"Hurh?"

"Claira bet me ten dollars I would get all the information about why you were late this evening out of you within one minute of you walking through the door. So, get talking kid, time is money."

"Ten dollars? Where has my kid got ten dollars?"

"I don't know. Keep talking." He said checking his watch.

"Let me put her to bed first."

David moved back out to the living room from the den when he had put Claira to bed. He focused in on Steve in the kitchen.

"Have you had dinner?"

"Erm, yeah." He said moving up to him.

"Alright, scotch?"

"Thanks." He said watching him pour.

"What did Joanne fix you?"

"Hurh, oh erm, steak!"

"Steak? Hmm, that means she was expecting you."

"She was not. She just had it in the freezer and never used it."

Steve watched him then moved past him to sit of the sofa.

"Well, what was that look for?"

"Nothing." He said sipping at his drink.

David moved in to the living room and hovered around the sofa looking in to his drink.

"You know, back there, it was like I was a kid again. No ties, no responsibility…"

"No family."

"Yeah, no family." David said now moving back to the bottle sitting on the worktop and poured out another glass. He brought the bottle in and placed it on the coffee table in front of Steve.

He sat down on the sofa and looked towards the den when Claira slept.

"How far did you take it tonight?"

He now looked at him.

"You sure you want to be asking me this?"

"I'm your brother, who else are you going to tell? Claira?"

He looked down and shook his head.

"Well then." He said grabbing the bottle.

"I want her Steven, I want her so badly. You know, I nearly didn't leave her tonight, but I knew that Claira would have been upset."

"I would have covered for you. I mean you've been late from work before where you've took a hotel for the night."

"Claira knew that I wasn't at work. The whole family were there when we met Joanne in the café."

"Do you want to tell Claira the truth? Sorry kid, but I was shafting my college sweetheart while you played games on the families X box? How would that sound, she's nine years old for Christ sake!"

"Thank you brother, but I do know how old my own kid is."

"Then just think for a moment about your kid and leave Joanne on the back burner."

David looked at him and sighed.

"It's like nothing has changed between us. It's like I'm still in Chicago and…"

"No, you didn't? You didn't talk about marriage to her?"

"We talked about it. It was all too fast. She's probably forgotten about it by now."

"You asked her to marry you? I don't believe this."

"I asked her to consider it."

"Well, you don't waste time, do you?"

"After the last performance, would you?"

"It's not me we're talking about here. If and when a nice alien walks past my door I might think twice, but that might be a cold day in hell for a town like Huntington, Utah!"

David now grabbed for the whisky bottle but Steve pulled it away and made sure he looked at him.

"Talk to Claira before you do anything else." He said now allowing him to take the bottle.

"I will." He said looking at him then put the bottle down and went to bed.

The next morning the kids were running amok in the kitchen making breakfast. Steve kept a close eye on the proceedings just as David walked in.

"Well, it's about time you surfaced. Claira is making you fried toast, she says it's daddies favourite." He said directing his voice over to her.

"Hi daddy." Claira said looking up as Sarah tried to push in.

"Hey, Sarah, that's enough." Steve said pulling her away.

"Dad, she's not making it right."

"Just leave her to it, darling. She wont be long. You carry on Claira." He said turning back to see David sitting down.

Eventually they were all having breakfast.

"Is it alright if I leave my car here today? I fancy the walk up to the farmhouse."

"Sure. I can get the hose out on it. The farmers been up the track again and turfed up the road. Both our cars could do with a wash."

"Thanks. I'll let the breakfast settle then we can be on our way, okay Claira?"

She nodded as she tucked in to breakfast.

"See, my food is too good for words." Steve said looking on.

A while later Claira and David were walking up the winding track to the farmhouse.

"Did you enjoy your evening with Steve and the family?"

"Yeah, uncle let me play with the X box."

"Good."

"But, I missed you being around. It's not half as funny when your not there."

"Yeah, I know. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You better."

They walked on. David now stopped her and took her hands to pull her in front of him.

"Do you want to know where I was last night?"

"Working?"

He smiled.

"No, not working. I try to make it a rule never to work on Saturdays. You remember that lady we all met at the café, yesterday?"

"A-ha, Joanne, I remember."

"Well, I spent the evening with her."

"What for?"

"Does there have to be a reason? I just spent some time with her, alone."

"Alone? Oh, alone." She said looking away.

"Now what does that supposed to mean?" He said turning her face back to look at him.

"Well, what would you be doing with her alone that you couldn't do with, say uncle Steve or myself around?"

"Ask me in two or three years time." He said then walked on.

They soon reached the farmhouse and went in.

Claira moved past the answer phone and noticed a message on it. She pressed the button as Joanne's voice came back.

"Hello David, I just thought that I'd call you to see if you had a nice night and that you got home safely. I really enjoyed myself this evening and I hope that you did too. Call me, when you get this message, please."

The phone went dead.

Claira looked back at David watching her.

"You gave her our number?"

"Well, I'm not exactly ex-directory. She could have called me at any time." He said going to the machine and pressing the erase button.

"Do, do you like her?" She said looking to her feet.

"Yeah, yes I like her. Joanne was my college… I was engaged to be married to her before I ever met you."

"Married?"

"Yes, married." He said then moved away.

"Well, what happened?"

"It's a long story." He said sighing.

Claira made sure that his eyes followed her moving around the sofa to sit down. She crossed her arms waiting for him to join her.

He looked away, shook his head then moved in to sit down next to Claira and pulled her into him.

"I guess that you need to hear this as your involved in it somewhere, too."

Claira looked up to him looking down then got comfortable on his chest.

"I first met Joanne when I was at college in Chicago. I was half way through my architect degree. We hit it off immediately; everyone told us that we were right for each other. We dated for some years. I came out of college with my degree, she came out with a new slant of the world." He said looking away.

"Hurh?"

"Her parents offered her a new life in Michigan, away from me. I still can't understand why she took it, but she did. Then she tells me she gets married and moves to Montana of all places."

"That's just one state away from here."

"Yeah, like Michigan was one state away from Illinois, but we are talking a good few hundred miles within each state, and I didn't even know where in Michigan she had settled."

"Well, now she's in Huntington, Utah, exactly where you live, with me." She said looking at him.

"Yes." He said now looking at her.

"Well, she knows I exist, thanks to our meeting with uncle Steve and my cousins at the local café. Is there any chance that when you make the next appointment to meet her that I can come too?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He said pulling her into him and kissing her.

David soon contacted Joanne and she agreed to meet him at their farmhouse the following evening.

David met Joanne in town and drove her out to the farmhouse.

"You see that house over there?"

"A-ha. Are they your neighbours?"

"My neighbours and my brother, Steven, remember?

"Yes, mi, you are a close family."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

He pulled up in the courtyard and Claira slowly opened the door and moved out to them.

"Hello darling." He said kissing her.

"Hi."

"Claira, you've already met Joanne at the café."

"Yeah, nice to meet you again, Joanne."

"The feeling is mutual, Claira."

"Shall we go in? The dinner should be all ready for us by now."

They slowly went in and had their dinner.

"Your father was explaining to me how you two met, Claira."

"Was he?" She said now looking at David pouring out some wine into Joanne's glass then filling up his own. She lent over the table towards her. "I bet he didn't tell you about my parents."

"Claira!" He said stopping half way through filling his glass.

"Well, you want everything to be open between us, yes?"

"Not that open."

"Erm, have I come in here between a family feud?"

"No!" He said looking at Claira then turned to Joanne. "It's just an in joke she shares with people about her parents and why I adopted her in the first place, right Claira?"

"Whatever you say dad, but, I just thought that it would only be fair that you told her about…"

"Later, much later, say, when you've gone to bed so that we don't confuse the issue any further."

"Alright." She said then looked away.

Joanne looked at them wondering what was going on, but decided not to push it until David was in the mood to tell her everything.

Later that evening David put Claira to bed and he moved back to the living room where Joanne was reading some magazines that were lying around.

"Who's are these? Aliens, do they exist? Don't tell me, Claira's. One of her many phases in life, hurh?"

David focused in on the magazine then took it from her and threw it to the other end of the couch.

"As a matter of fact, we both read them. But, not tonight."

"Come again."

"Well, it has something to do with what Claira was talking about over dinner. Her parents, why I adopted her."

"Go on, I'm listening."

David looked at her, sighed and moved to the kitchen for a fag. Joanne looked around then moved out to him.

"Now who doesn't want to be open with me?"

"It's not a case of being open or closed with this situation, Joanne, it's whether you believe me enough to stick with me over this or just walk out that door the second I tell you that I spend most of my time now searching for aliens from another planet."

She looked at him.

"Your serious, aren't you?"

"Deadly serious. I've seen them Joanne, Steven, my brother you met the other day, he's one of them. So is his youngest daughter, Annette."

"And I guess so is Claira, right?"

"No, her parents were aliens, well not her real parents of course."

"Oh, of course not, her real parents are from Mars!"

David took a drag from his fag and moved out the back door in to the courtyard.

Joanne slowly appeared by the door and watched him.

He turned back and looked at her.

"Now you can see why I wanted to tell you first before Claira just came out with her fantasy version of it."

She moved out to him.

"Are you sure that your not just making a fantasy version out of it?"

"You of all people, I thought that you would believe me, understand."

"Oh, I understand alright. I know that you never got over me leaving you on the night before we were set to get married, but I wasn't ready and looking at you now, I know that I was right."

"That was over five years ago…"

"And nothing has changed, David, can't you see that?"

"You think that I'd make all this alien thing up just to get you back?"

"I know that your desperate to keep hold of me now that I've walked back in to your life."

"You want proof?"

"David, I don't need proof. I have my proof, now and that night I left. I'm leaving now to stop this happening all over again."

"Wait, five minutes."

"For my cab that I have just called, yes."

"What?" He said then ran into the house and grabbed the extension phone. "Steven would you mind coming up here for a minute, yeah and forget your ring." He said looking at Joanne walking back in. "Now we'll see who is so desperate."

Joanne looked at him then her watch.

A few minutes later Steven walked up to the farmhouse and knocked on the half open door.

"Anyone home?"

"Steve, come in here." David said from the kitchen.

"Oh, hi bro. Hello Joanne." He said walking in.

"Steven. I was just telling Joanne about my job other than being an architect."

"Erm, okay. Oh, that explains the ring you asked me to leave at home. She doesn't believe you, yeah?"

"Yes, so, if you wouldn't mind."

"Sure. Erm, Joanne, as I am sure that my brother has tried to tell you, I am an alien. My current generation have a flaw with our hands. Some aliens really detest this flaw, but it helps them, I mean humans to find out that we are aliens and not from the planet." He said closing his hand as his little finger stayed erect for all to see.

"And that's it? That's how you know that your brother is an alien?" She said looking at him.

"Physically, yes. There are other ways but this is the only one I can show you at the moment."

Joanne's cab now sounded its horn outside.

"Please, wait! Agree to fly over to Los Angeles with us in the morning. I'll introduce you to the bureau's director, Ed Scoville."

"A bureau? Don't tell me that there are more of you out there?"

"Many more and its growing by the week. Please Joanne, I want you to decide for yourself."

"I have, excuse me. See you around some time David, Steven."

They watched her go and jump into her cab and watched it leave.

"You know, I was wondering if you would tell her. You can understand her reaction."

"Yeah, only too well." He said moving away.

A few days later Joanne was working in some local offices in town when a group of men walked in. She watched one of the men approach the front desk and talk to the receptionist. She now noticed that this man's hand was exactly the same as Steven's. She stayed back watching them for a while. A young executive from her building went over to the group and led them through the building to an adjoining office. She went back to her desk but could not get the man's hand out of her head. She checked the Internet for Steven's number and dialled it.

"Steve Vincent, hello?"

She looked at the phone for a second.

"Erm Steve, Steve this is Joanne Turner."

"Oh hi, Joanne."

She paused again.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm not sure. Could I meet you somewhere? Please don't tell David about this."

"About what, exactly?"

"I don't know yet. Look, I take my lunch at one, can I meet you in the square?"

"Okay. I guess I could drive in to town."

"Thank you." She said then noticed the group of men now moving past her office door.

Joanne moved in to the town square in Huntington and looked around.

"Nice day." Steve said behind her.

"Hurh?" She said spinning round.

Steve grabbed her.

"Hey, easy. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, look erm, come with me for a minute."

"Are you sure you're not mistaking me for my brother here? I don't go for your type, I mean, well maybe you don't know what I mean." He said looking away.

"You mean aliens, yes?"

Steve looked at her.

"Yes Steve, I believe that I have seen them." She said watching him now standing uneasy in front of her.

"Arh, now I understand why you didn't want to speak to my brother. Well, you do know that I have every right to tell him and make no doubt about it Joanne, I will contact him as soon as we have finished this conversation."

"That's what I'm counting on."

Steve looked at her now slightly confused.

Joanne explained to him what she could and Steve contacted David as soon as possible.

David drove out to the town that afternoon and met with Steve.

"When you told me that Joanne was still here, at first I didn't believe you, I mean after last time."

"Well, maybe she found her government job too precious to give up just over an old flame."

David looked at him then noticed a van pulling into the back entrance of the building.

"We've got alien activity." Steve said grabbing his trusty camera.

They looked at the aliens jump out of the back and enter the building.

"We need to get in to that building."

"Wait a minute, that's a government building in our home town. With our governments high security rating at the moment we couldn't even get in there as janitors. The only one who can help us at the moment is your would be girlfriend."

"Your enjoying this, aren't you?" David said looking at him.

"I'm only telling you the truth."

"Sometimes the truth hurts. Have you ever heard that expression?"

"On Earth no but, then again I haven't been here that long."

"They're leaving."

"Copy that, bro. I'll fax these prints off to Scoville in time for his morning coffee." He said then noticed Joanne. "Why don't you work on getting us some passes to that place." He said pointing.

"Hurh?" David said looking round.

"Your ex."

David noticed her then looked at Steve and slowly got out.

Joanne looked at him and stopped. He moved up to her.

"Good evening."

She looked down.

"I guess your just itching to tell me that you told me so, ha?" She said looking back up.

"Over dinner at my place? Well, maybe."

She looked at him then Steve in the car and slowly nodded.

The whole family had dinner at David's where the conversation soon turned to the onset of the aliens on the Earth.

"At first I was sick to the stomach to realise that these aliens were among us." Claira said playing with her food.

"Well, I can definitely vouch for the same towards the humans at first, Claira. I didn't know what to make of you and how we could ever survive living with you, let alone having them as my family." Steve said now laughing.

"You tell em dad, they are just so…" Annette stopped and realised that they were all looking at her.

"Do you want to finish that sentence, darling?"

"Erm, no daddy, no thank you." She said looking away.

The adults started to laugh as the children looked on.

David noticed that Joanne was now playing with her food.

They soon finished their dinner and David made sure that Steve collected the children to make them wash up while David and Joanne had a quiet talk in the living room.

Joanne watched Steve with the children then noticed that David was watching her.

She gave him a worried smile then looked away.

"I thought that you would be half way across another state by now."

"I have some work to do in town yet."

"Yeah, I realised that. Government work, I didn't know that you was in to that line of work."

"I wasn't, my ex husband was. I just couldn't shake the image after I shook him."

"Oh, alright."

David now looked at Steve and the children.

"To be honest with you. I'm glad you stuck around. I mean, not just for my sake, well, mainly for my sake…"

"What do you normally do with these aliens once you find out about them?"

"We usually kill them." Steve said walking back in holding a tray of drinks.

Joanne looked at him then David looking on.

"I hope those drinks are for us." David said changing the subject.

"They are. The kids have theirs in the kitchen as they have decided to stay out of the way."

"Wise choice." David said taking two glasses from the tray and handing one to Joanne.

She looked at him and slowly took the glass from him and sipped it.

"Those pictures I took should be in the computer by now. Do you want me to do the honours and alert our glorious leader in LA?" Steve said looking at David and winking.

"Alright, thanks." He said watching him leave the room.

Joanne watched him then looked at David.

"I think that I should be going. It's getting late."

"Nonsense. Look, if you want to play it safe, I have a spare bed in my den back at the cottage." Steve said watching her reaction.

"Or, to play it even safer, you can borrow the bed in my den." David said looking at her.

"Scouts honour?" Steve said holding up his hand.

"Of course." David said laughing then realised that Joanne was looking at his finger. He now coughed.

"Spare room it is then." He said standing up and pulling Steve's hand down.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I can never remember where I put that damn ring sometimes." He said then went back to the kitchen to grab his children and leave them to it.

"Look, erm, I'll sort Claira out. You just relax for a while. I'll get the spare room ready."

"No. I might as well make myself useful. You sort your daughter out, I'll make the bed up." She said rising to her feet.

David realised that they were standing face to face. He now reached for her and they kissed.

A high-pitched cough could be heard behind them.

"Erm, daddy."

Joanne pulled away and David looked down.

"Claira, erm, yeah sorry, erm, lets get you to bed ha?" He said turning back and pulled her in to the back.

David made Claira's bed, as she got undressed. She nervously watched him, as she got ready.

"There you go."

"Thanks." She said then got in. "Dad?"

"Hmm?" He said tucking her in.

"When you kissed Joanne back there…" She said watching her father's reaction to the leading question poised on her lips.

"Yes!" He said uneasy with his daughters questioning.

"It was like when I remembered my mum and dad kissing."

"Was it?"

"Because they loved each other."

"A-ha." He said checking that she was tightly tucked in.

"Do you love Joanne like my mum and dad loved each other?"

He looked at her then moved around her bed and sat down on the corner and turned back to face her.

"You want to know, kid?"

She slightly nodded as she lent over and grabbed his hand.

"Part of me has never stopped loving her. So, in a sense, yeah I guess I do love her like your mum and dad loved each other."

"Does that mean I'm going to have a mummy before my tenth birthday?"

He stared at her.

"Claira Vincent, really!" He said now standing up. "Bed, now!"

She hit the pillow with a thud.

David laughed and then moved up to her and kissed her.

"Goodnight darling."

"Night. Tell Joanne I said goodnight."

"Oh I will, don't you worry." He said then turned out the light and closed the door and headed back to Joanne who was in the den fixing up the bed.

"Claira says goodnight by the way."

"Oh, alright."

He looked back and laughed.

"Something funny in that?"

"Hurh, no. It was Claira, back there. She was asking if she'll have a mummy before her tenth birthday."

Joanne looked at him.

"Is that so? Well, when's her birthday?"

"Oh not until the fall."

"Well, then, there's still hope for her."

David looked at her as Joanne started to laugh. He slowly moved up to her and they started to kiss.

The next morning Claira was making herself an orange juice when she heard Joanne laughing as she watched her being chased in to the kitchen by David. They stopped as they noticed her.

"Erm, morning." Joanne said moving past her to grab a cereal bowl from the cupboard.

"Hi." She said turning around.

David moved in front of her to stop her leaving the kitchen.

"Morning darling. Did you have a nice sleep?" He said kissing her.

"Yeah. Did you?" She said as she dodged past him to head back to her room noticing that the den bed had not been slept in.

David now looked at Joanne who was looking at him.

"Maybe I should get dressed and make a quick exit."

"What is it with her? Can't I have a relationship with her around? Last night she was all for it."

"She's daddies girl, she'll grow out of it."

"When? When I'm dead and buried?"

"Hopefully not that long." She said moving up to him for a kiss.

The phone now started to ring. David looked at it ringing away to itself on the wall at the other end of the kitchen.

"Is someone going to get that?" Claira said from her bedroom.

"The voice of reasoning in my head." He said stealing one more kiss from Joanne as he moved over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

"David, Steve!"

"Oh, hi bro. What's up?"

"I just got an email from Scoville. Have you checked you're in box lately?"

"Not yet, no. I've been otherwise, engaged." He said looking at Joanne who now walked out of the kitchen to leave it to him.

Claira now walked in with the email and waved it in front of him.

"Have you been listening on the other line?"

"Of course. You better read this dad." She said handing the letter to him.

David stared at her then took the letter and slowly read it.

"Are you still there, bro?"

"I'm here, I'm just reading this letter. Scoville's layed up in LA all week. He's requested us to deal with this on his behalf." He said putting the page down on the worktop.

"Have you got any ideas on how we're going to handle this?"

"Not at the moment, no. I haven't even had breakfast yet. Look, give me an hour then get yourself over here and we'll sort something out."

"Sure. See you later."

David put the receiver back on the phone and looked at Claira.

"Go and get yourself dressed. I'll make us all some breakfast."

"The den wasn't slept in last night."

He looked at her.

"No, no it wasn't." He said then looked at Joanne keeping her head down.

"Figures." She said looking away.

"Will you go and get dressed, please."

She turned round and went to her room.

David looked at Joanne and let out a loud rush of air.

"I could call a cab."

"No. Steve will be over after breakfast. We have to sort out this problem in town."

"What about this problem at home?"

"That's for me to deal with. I can handle her, I have many times before." He said looking towards Claira's room.

Steve was soon at the farmhouse and they started to sort out arrangements for getting into the government offices.

"One thing I do know that goes on in that building is the planning of military installation deployments in the North America."

"Yeah, we would be interested in those. I've heard talk before about trying to get some area under alien control and they would involve military installations."

"And with our current crisis these installations would be less of an eye sore if they were done quickly and quietly. Exactly what they are good at. The governors must be glad of the help." David said looking at him.

"Glad of alien help? You mean that they would actually go out there and look for their help?"

"It's what their capable of Joanne because they can act so much like us. The army wouldn't think twice with the technology they have. They can make it look and even match our needs and at this moment in time the present government would be glad with any help they could get on their own doorstep."

"We need to get a plan of what installations they are planning and where." Steve said looking at David.

"Yes, agreed." He said then looked at Joanne.

"I guess that you need my help then?"

"You work there. You have business in there. We would stick out like a sore thumb."

"Or finger, in my case."

Joanne looked at them.

That morning Joanne went to work and moved through the offices. She entered a room that the aliens were using and moved over to the files and looked through them. She grabbed her mobile phone and quickly took a few snap shots of the pages.

That lunchtime David waited for Joanne in the square. He moved up to her they kissed.

"How did it go?"

"Okay, I think. They aren't using that office today so I managed to get a few shots on my mobile, look." She said going through the list.

"You didn't get stopped at the gate? Being a government listed building I would have thought that these things would be banned."

"Their getting so small now, you can even slip these in your garter belt. They only scan you on a security off day now, anyway."

"I'm just checking. I don't want your cover blown before you start to get anywhere."

"Will you relax? Everything went off okay; take a look at these pictures, will you."

She said handing him the phone.

"That's an area in Nevada." He said checking the spec.

"Yes, and there was also a listing for Nebraska."

"Their heading east. Next they'll be in Washington DC!"

"Having lunch with the President, that would be rich." Joanne said looking away.

David watched her.

"You better get back."

"I do have an hour Mr Vincent. Erm, any idea on how I could waste it?"

"Around here?" He said looking at the local crowd in the town.

"Hmm, maybe."

"Lunch?"

She nodded as he led her away to a local café.

"Do you have any idea yet what they might be planning?"

"Not yet, but with those installations in their control, it's going to be something big. We have to stop them at any cost Joanne."

"At any cost? Does that include loosing me to them?"

"No! If and when it comes down to it, I'll protect you, like I have always protected my family." He said taking her hand and looking at her.

Joanne smiled and felt comforted by his words.

They soon walked back to the square. David pulled her in front of her and stared at her.

"I need you to find out as much information about this site in Nevada. This seems the one that is almost complete. The more information you can get the more prepared we will be to attack them."

"I'll do my best."

"I know you will."

"I better go."

He stopped her turning away and touched her face.

"I love you." He said then kissed her.

"I love you too." She said then moved away and headed in to the building and out of David's sight.

The building was now a little busier. The aliens had returned and were now occupying the office that Joanne had been using. She slowly entered the room but was soon stopped by a security guard.

"I'm afraid that this area is out of bounds to all non commissioned staff, mam."

"Oh, really? Sorry, I was not told of this."

"Where are you stationed?"

"Well, I believed that it was here, but if you say that I am not allowed…" She noticed that the guard was an alien. "Erm, I'm sorry, excuse me." She said then left.

She moved back to her own offices and went up to her desk and called David on his mobile.

"David, the whole wing is crawling with aliens. They have a guard who is an alien. He's just stopped me entering their offices again."

"Alright, well, you can't push it, they'll start to suspect something is up, if you do. Look, leave it for today. You will have to try early tomorrow before anyone is around. I'll talk with Steve to see if he has come up with anything. Are you alright there for now?"

"I'll be fine. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of any more help."

"You've been fine. I couldn't have done better myself. I'll pick you up tonight, okay?"

"Alright, goodbye David." She said then replaced the receiver and looked around the office.

That evening Joanne walked out of the building and noticed the security guard who had stopped her earlier. She stared at him as David pulled up. She quickly moved up to the car and got in.

"Are you alright?" He said noticing that she was uneasy.

"That guard, he was the one that stopped me earlier. I think he suspects something."

"Well, lets allay his suspicions, kiss me."

"Hurh?"

"If he believes that I'm your husband just picking you up from work it might put him off the scent."

She looked at David then kissed him.

The guard watched their body language then walked away.

"He's gone." David said looking on.

"Do you think he believed us?"

"If he didn't, I sure did." He said looking at her.

Joanne stared at him then faced forward. He soon got the message and drove off back to the farmhouse.

Steve was waiting for them with the children.

"You two get settled in. I'm cooking tonight."

"Alright." David said making sure Joanne was okay.

They were soon having dinner.

"The base in Nevada is nearly six months in to construction and the one in Nebraska is ear marked for completion early next year. I called Ed for some information on the site in Nevada. He has two of his men working at the site and as far as they can tell they have two regenerating plants in full working order. I'm waiting for a call from one of them tonight in regards to joining up with them and destroying the base."

"Can you really destroy a base that is government funded?" Joanne asked.

"We can certainly try. Ed is working on the legal side, we deal with the practicalities." David said finishing his meal.

"It just seems so much to take in at the moment. I mean only the other day I didn't even believe that they…" She looked at David watching her. "Well, I guess you know that after what happened."

David took her hand.

"But you believe now and that's all that counts, and, your helping us. That's all I ever wanted from you."

Claira watched her father's hand clamped in Joanne's.

"Dad?"

"Hurh?" He said as his concentration was distracted away from Joanne.

"Can I be excused?"

"Have you finished your dinner?"

"Yes."

"Alright."

With that all the children jumped off their seats and ran into the back.

"Hey, that didn't mean…Ah, forget it!" Steve said looking on. "Hey David, I'm going to check the computer in the den, okay?"

"Sure."

"I'll leave you two to, to whatever humans get up to, hurh?" He said moving away.

"I think that we better clear this table." Joanne said trying to break David's concentration.

"Hmm, what oh erm, yeah. We seem to have been left to it." He said getting up and going to the kitchen with Joanne helping to carry the plates in.

As soon as they were finished David and Joanne had a water fight and chased each other into the back bedroom.

The children watched them run in then looked at Claira.

"So, do we get to be the bridesmaids?" Annette said grabbing a bag of crisps from the night table.

"Annette, shut up will you." Sarah said looking on.

"I only asked. They look so, so…" She said nudging Claira.

"Hey, you two!" Steve said by the doorway.

They all looked up.

"Are you staying her the night with your cousin or are you coming back to the cottage?"

Claira jumped up and went to him.

"Uncle Steve, could you please take them back to your place? I know that there family, but…" She looked back then looked down.

"Hey, cous, do we get a say in this?" Annette said looking on.

"No you don't! Coats, now." Steve said as he watched them go out. He looked at Claira. "Are you going to be alright here?"

"Sure."

"Okay. If you want to talk, you know my number." He said kissing her.

"Thanks uncle Steve."

"My pleasure sweetheart. Okay kids, march!"

Claira watched him leave then looked back at her fathers closed bedroom door. She went back in to her room and closed the door behind her.

The next morning Joanne made breakfast for them. Claira walked out of her bedroom in her school clothes to see David with her. He noticed her and moved away.

"Good morning darling."

"Hi." She said placing her schoolbooks on the worktop and moving in to the kitchen.

"Joanne has decided to make us all breakfast. Full English sound okay to you?"

"Full? Erm, yeah okay."

"I thought that that would wake you up." He said kissing her then going back to Joanne to help.

They soon had breakfast and they pilled into David's car to drive down the lane to see Steve waiting for him with his children.

"Morning, Steve." David said looking over to him.

"Hello. Hi Joanne."

"Hello Steve."  
"I'm driving Joanne straight to work. Do you mind dropping Claira off at school this morning?"

"No, I don't mind." He said opening the back door to allow Claira to jump out.

Claira moved round to David and kissed him.

"Right, we'll see you tonight?"

Claira looked at Joanne.

"Okay."

"Goodbye Claira." She said looking on.

"Bye."

David now drove off and Claira went to Steve.

"Okay, well you better all climb in the back then." He said grabbing her school bag and watching her get in with his kids.

David pulled up outside Joanne's workplace.

"Pretty quiet. You might be able to get in to that office without any trouble today."

"I hope so. I'm not sure that I've already been found out, though. That security guard yesterday…"

"Look, just keep out of his way. If he's like any average security man he'd have probably forgotten you by now."

"Hey, are you saying that aliens are average now?"

"If their like my brother, yes." He said laughing then looked at her. "Well, you better get in there."

"Yes." She said opening the door.

He stopped her and she looked back.

"I'll be here at lunchtime." He said kissing her.

"Do you mind Mr Vincent, people are beginning to notice."

"I don't mind. This is my town, let them notice."

"Bye" She said giving him another kiss then leaving.

David watched her go then pulled into the car park to do a little window-shopping at the jewellers.

That evening the whole Vincent family met at David's farmhouse to discuss the information Joanne had managed to find out.

Steve watched the children playing their games on the Playstation as David made contact with Ed to find out what he had planned.

He soon finished his conversation and made them all drink and moved back out to them, sitting down next to Joanne and taking her hand.

"Well, what's the word from our illustrious leader?" Steve said sipping at his whisky.

"We deal with the site in Nevada by the end of the week."

"That soon? Has he got his men in the area?"

"Yes, and they are trying to get passes for us. We'll drive over to Nevada in the morning. We should be at the site just after lunch. The roads should be empty around there. Ed is faxing over some information about a motel near the site. We can stay there for a few days, check out the area and see where we go from there."

"Great. Can't wait." Steve said looking on.

"It all seems so easy. I mean, you told me what they are capable of, and those specs I've seen. Isn't this all a little dangerous?"

"We know what we're doing." David said looking at her.

"I say. We've been at this long enough."

Joanne looked at him then David and rested her head on him.

Steve soon collected the children and they left David and Joanne getting warm by the fire with Claira reading her magazine.

"I'm glad he left early." David said sighing.

"Oh, why?" Joanne asked looking at him.

He looked at her then reached in to his pocket and took out a small case.

"I wanted us to share this moment together. I went to the jewellers today and picked out this ring that I would like you to wear for me." He said opening the case and showing her the ring inside.

"My word, it's, it's lovely."

"I hoped that you would like it. It erm, also comes with a question." He said as he took the ring out of its case and lifted her left hand.

"A, a question?" She said watching him put the ring on her third finger.

"Will you marry me?" He said making sure the ring was all right then looked at her.

Claira now looked up from her magazine and then jumped on to the sofa next to them.

"Wow, marriage." She said looking on.

David chose not to look at her and waited patiently for Joanne to say something.

Joanne looked at Claira watching them then looked at David.

She smiled and nodded.

"Yes, yes. I will marry you." She said as they kissed.

Claira now jumped up.

"You wait till I tell Uncle Steve, he's going to flip!"

"No time like the present then." David said looking at her.

"Yeah, right!" She said about to run off then stopped and looked back. "This is great! I've got a mum and a dad again." She said hugging them and running off.

They watched her go then looked at each other.

"Well, she seems happy with the idea." Joanne said watching him.

"All she's wanted is parents and a secure home. We can easily give her that." He said then kissed her. "I love you, Mrs Vincent."

"Oooh, not yet, Mr Vincent. We haven't even begun to think about marriage."

"With Claira telling my brother at this precise moment we'll have the caterers in by next week. Just after we deal with that site in Nevada."

The next morning they were all driving out in to Nevada. Steve took the children in his car so that David and Joanne could have a break.

They reached the motel that afternoon to see a convoy of army trucks speeding by.

"When they want to make a presence they make it look official." Steve said watching the dust fly into the air.

"The problem is, that it is." David said they headed to their rooms.

"Hey, David, wait up a minute." Steve said moving up to him.

"Do you want to spend some time alone with Joanne?"

"Come again."  
"You know. Look, I can easily take Claira in my room. She gets on great with my two."

"Thanks for the offer bro, but I think that we'll be fine."

"Well, okay. The offer is there though, you know, if…"

"I'll remember it, thanks." He said laughing.

Joanne walked up to him.

"What's so funny?"

"Steve. He just offered to usher Claira out of the way while we were here."

"Is that so? You should have taken him up on the offer. Well, you don't know what might be around the corner, do you?" She said kissing him then went in.

David watched her go then quickly followed.

That night they met the men from the site.

"The whole area is one big security operation. Nobody goes in or out without being searched first. Sometimes strip searched."

"Well, if there are ladies involved I'm game." Steve said trying to look all excited.

"Easy, stud! Do you have our passes?"

"Yeah, but we had some trouble getting them."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Trouble in as if they ask who you got these from we don't exist kind of trouble."

"Meaning you wont if they do find out." Steve said looking at them.

"You've got it."

"Alright, well you better get out of here. We've been seeing the so called army around here all day." David said letting them go. He now looks at Steve checking the passes.

"Do you want a drink while we're here?"

"Hurh, erm, yeah." He said putting the pass in his top pocket.

"What's the matter with you?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just wondering how guys like that managed to get jobs in an army base."

"Their Scoville's men and you know as well as I do, that's not an army base."

"Exactly. With the current security situation in the United States those guys couldn't have got a job as a rent a cop."

David looked at his brother as he handed him his drink. Something in the back of his mind couldn't help agreeing with his brother, but they were too involved now to pull out.

"Maybe its worth calling Ed before we head in there tomorrow, to find out if he's heard anything new since we arrived here."

"He's laid up with his back."

"Do you want to go in there blind?"

"Aren't we already? David, we don't know what they have on that base. We saw specs, but a base that size."

"What do you suggest?"

"That we do our own research first. We just look around the base, then report back here tomorrow night and take it from there."

"We're wasting time. The other base is going to be accepted any day now. If we can get in there and disrupt this site, even put the aliens back a few months, let the real army find out what they are doing then it would be a start."

"And evidently the end for the bureau. Do you want that after all the work you've put in to it? Is Ed going to be at the other end of this with a pat on the back for all the good work that you've done placing your ass on the line again?"

David finished his drink and left Steve to it.

He went back to Joanne checking that Claira was asleep.

"Well, it's about time. How did your meeting go?"

"Fine. We got the passes." He said jumping down on the sofa.

She moved in to him.

"That's it? You've got the passes?"

"Yeah. We go to the base in the morning. I better grab some sleep." He said attempting to stand up.

"Hold on." Joanne said stopping him.

"You don't seem so pleased at receiving them."

He looked down and sighed.

"Something happen in the meantime?" She said touching him.

"It's nothing. Steve just has a way of getting to me, that's all. I guess it's the alien inside him."

"Regarding what, exactly?"

"Nothing, forget it." He said kissing her and getting up to head in to the bedroom.

She watched him go then thought to herself.

The next morning they had an early breakfast and then met Steve at the door.

"Are you all ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Right. I'll erm, wait for you in the car." He said moving away.

David looked back at Joanne and Claira waiting patiently.

"I'll see you tonight. If Ed calls."

"I know, I'll tell him you've entered the lions den. Good luck." She said kissing him.

"That's goes from me too, daddy." Claira said hugging him.

He looked at them.

"I love you two, remember that." He said then got in and Steve drove away.

They soon arrived at the base. They were routinely searched then made to go to a waiting area.

"Strange." Steve said looking around

"What?" David said turning to look at him.  
"Those gate guards were human."

"All part of the ploy, I guess. Don't forget, I'm not your brother here. Okay?"

"Brother, who?"

David smirked just as two aliens walked in.

"We weren't told of your arrival today. Do you have your passes with you?"

"Yes. We were told to attend this base for future information regarding the new site in Nebraska."

The alien checked the passes. He then looked at David and Steve.

"Did the government send you over here?"

"Well of course. Don't we all work for the government around here?" Steve said grabbing his briefcase. "I want you to take a look at these specs…"

David watched the alien getting involved with the work that Steve had collected so far.

"Alright. You've got clearance, but as your new, I insist that one of my men follow you around the base today."

"That's quite reasonable. I'd be glad to accept the offer, thank you." Steve said placing the specs back in his case.

The alien allowed them to leave the room then move around the base.

"Clever." David said.

"A little homework doesn't hurt no-one." Steve said cleaning his medal then realising that his finger was sticking out for all to see. "Damn!"

"What?"

"My ring. I must have forgotten it this morning."

David stared at him.

"Let me do the pointing, ha?"

They carried on round the base.

Later on they had lunch in the canteen where the aliens had started to gather.

"This is like feeding time at the zoo."

"Hmm, and you seem to be the specimen at the moment, the token human." Steve said grabbing a tray.

They sat down at a table and started to eat.

"Excuse me. I couldn't help noticing that you are from the government. Planners for the new base, am I right?"

"That's correct, yes. David Nicolas." He said shaking hands with the alien.

"Steven Durant." Steve said now shaking his hand.

"Jeff Wood. I am creator of this base. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind meeting me after lunch in my office at the other end of the site."

"Well, we have got a tight schedule. We need to look over the whole base by night fall." David said checking his watch.

"Oh, that is surely going to be boring. Your architects, you've seen these specs on the computers for months. We need to talk about the future, the future for these bases. Nebraska is just another stepping stone, I hear that two other sites are earmarked."

"Two more?"

"Yes, didn't you get my notes?"

"Erm," Steve looked through the specs.

"This is why we need to get together and discuss this further. Meet me later, gentlemen." He said now leaving them to be sick in to their meals.

"Two more sites? I've never known the aliens to be so advantageous." David said looking away.

"Something's wrong."

"I know. This is too easy."

"They must be on to us."

"We better check the other buildings out now."

"What about our invitation? If we don't take him up on the offer their going to know something is up."

"Something already is up, my hackles, come on."

They left the canteen and moved through the buildings.

One of the buildings was restricted but they noticed the electricity cables going in to it.

"Regeneration room."

"We're getting closer to the truth. That waste ground in the back. Did you see the scorch marks?"

"Yeah. They've recently had a landing. The amount of trucks on this base, this must also be another drop off centre. If we can find some dorms or classrooms it would only prove what they want this base for." Steve said checking another area.

They went to another building and looked through the window.

"Something tells me that that's the Nebraska base under construction."

"Lets get in there and get some shots."

They moved around the building then noticed Jeff who was heading straight for them.

"Too late." Steve said pulling David back. "Let me handle this."

"With your slight of hand? Steven watch yourself."

"Don't I always?"

They walked up to him.

"Well gentlemen, glad you could join me." Jeff said walking in to the room.

"I was just saying to David here, I noticed the specs. You're planning something bigger at this base."

"Well of course. This is just a baby compared to the plans for the new base. To tell you the truth, being government funded you have all these undesirables turning up at the front gate for work."

"Undesirables? What, you mean aliens?" David said now looking at Jeff's hand resting on the table.

"I tend to lean towards undesirables, it sounds better, don't you think?"

"Oh, of course. Now, could we talk about this base for a minute?"

"This base? Well, it's fully completed and what this base has is in no way what the Nebraska base will hold."

"What does this base hold that is different to the Nebraska site?" David asked looking at him.

Jeff watched him.

"We are here just to concentrate on the base, Mr erm, Nicolas?" He said checking his paperwork.

"Yes, but as I would be designing this base I would like to know what is going to be housed within it."

"Seeds, so am told."

David looked at Steve who was now looking at him.

"Does this surprise you?"

"Surprise us? Not in the least. Everything needs to grow, in moderation."

Jeff moved to the computer.

"Maybe you'd like a print out of the base, yes?"

"Thank you." David said watching him.

They were allowed to leave the base quite easily and they drove back to their motel.

"I'm calling Ed the minute we get back."

"Seeds? The whole plant is geared for the third generation."

"With two more in the planning."

"They must be concentrating on the last set of Annette's generation at this base."

"The sooner we shut them down the better."

"Agreed."

Steve pulled in to the motel and they got out.

"I'll try the phone in my room."

"No, bro, it might be tapped by now. Best try the pay phone in the bar."

"Yeah, your right. Tell Joanne and the kids not to use the phones in their rooms. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Right." Steve said going in to his room.

David went to the bar and moved over to the pay phone. He managed to contact Ed.

"David, what have you found out?"

"Everything. The base is used for training and regeneration. I've seen plans for the Nebraska site that is being prepared for third generation aliens. They have seed trays ready for installation."

"I need to get some more men down there."

"This place has to be raided and raided soon. The quicker we can do this the more time we have to concentrate on the Nebraska site and the spores."

"I understand. I'll get right on it and call you back."

"Forget that. The phones are probably tapped. Look, Steven has his notebook with him. Send a wireless message to him by the morning."

"It might take more time than that."

"Ed, we can't let this base grow anymore."

"All right. I'll call you, but try not to move without my say so."

David dropped the phone and noticed that he was not alone. He recognised the men from the base. He slowly moved away and went to his room where Joanne and Claira were waiting.

"What's going on? Steve told us not to use the phones in our rooms."

David moved to the window and noticed a black sedan parked outside with the men he had seen earlier now climbing back in to it.

"David? David, what's going on?"

"Steve must have noticed them by now. I have to take the gamble."

"Gamble, what gamble?"

"We have company out there."

"Hurh?" Claira said rushing forward.

"Claira, easy."

"Black car. Dad, their."

"Correct, and what's your next question?"

She looked at him then moved away.

"Look, stay here. I need to get out there and talk to Steve."

"Are you sure, I mean?"

"It's not going to take them long to put two and two together now is it? I'll be back in a minute." He said then stepped outside and headed to Steve's room.

Steve slowly opened the door and allowed him in.

"Your taking a chance with them sitting on our doorstep, aren't you?"

"Have you got a better idea? I've talked to Scoville about what we've found out. He wants me to put off going back to the base until after he's contacted me, but those aliens out there will not take long to find out our true identities and why we're here."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Just pray that nothing happens in the meantime for them to get suspicious."

"What about the children, even Joanne? If they see that you're not alone…"

"I have to take that chance."

"Big chance, we're talking about our family here."

David looked at him.

"Stay here. Ed is going to call you via the notebook."

"They saw my notebook at the base. That's another way that they can tap in to us. Wireless connectivity."

"We have no other options at the moment."  
"Yes we have. Go home and wait for Scoville to work on them. David, with them on our doorstep we have no choice."

"Close the door behind me."

Steve watched him go then looked at the men in the car from behind the curtain.

David went back in to his room where Joanne and Claira were waiting for him. He checked behind the curtain then looked back.

"I think there here for the night." He said then went to Joanne and Claira in the corner watching him. "You better get some sleep, Claira."

"I want to stay with you."

"I'm going to be right here. We both are."

"Come on Claira, I'll put you to bed."

Claira now hugged David and allowed Joanne to lead her into the bedroom.

David grabbed a glass and poured a whisky into it and swallowed it. Joanne now came back out.

"Does it always get this hairy?"

"Not like this, no. This is the only generation base that we have uncovered."

"Thanks to me." She said sighing and sitting down.

David looked at her and moved in to sit next to her.

"I don't want you to worry. We've been in worse spots than this in the past."

"Putting your family at risk?"

"I've done it before and I'll probably do it again."

"I was sort of hoping that after our wedding that you would concentrate on the family."

"Hey, I always concentrate on the family. Having a wife and child will not make any difference."

"Maybe they'll make the difference for you."

David looked at her.

When David awoke the next morning he moved out to the window and realised that the car was gone. There was now a knock at his door. He moved to open it.

"David."

"The cars gone."  
"Hey, I was just about to say that."

David pulled him in just as Joanne and Claira walked out.

"Erm, hi guys."

"Did you say the car had gone?" Joanne said moving forward.

"Yeah."

"Well, that's great. That must mean they don't suspect anything." Claira said going to him.

He stepped away.

"It means nothing of the sort."

"We have to get back to that base and find out what is going on." Steve said looking at him.

He looked at Joanne then Steve and nodded.

"Have you heard from Scoville yet?"

"No."

"All right, we hold off for now. We'll go back to the base, get the information on the spores we need to keep Ed happy. If he doesn't come up with anything by dinner I'm torching the place, understand."

"Yeah, a nice shade of red." Claira said watching them.

They looked at her.

Steve drove back out to the base and they went through the usual security measures. A jeep pulled up with two more aliens on board. David recognised one of them as the guard who was in Joanne's offices in Utah earlier that week.

David turned away but the guard recognised him. They were allowed on the base.

The guard moved in to the cabin to check the names.

"David Nicolas?"

"Something wrong?"

"Those men, I recognise one of them from the offices in Huntington, Utah. Do you remember I made that report about a female employee who was seen in our offices there."

"I remember, yeah. Wasn't she seen talking to that David Vincent charactor?"

"Yes. I didn't really get a good look at him, but I'd remember that broad anywhere." He said then walked out slowly following Steve and David around the base.

They soon managed to pick up a bit more information about the two bases and drove out early that afternoon.

Steve pulled in to the motel and David jumped out and went to his room.

"You better start packing."

"Packing, why?"

He moved up to her.

"You remember that security guard back home in Huntington?"

"Yeah."

"He's at the base and I think he recognised me. I certainly recognised him."

"But, what about the base?"

"We have enough information now for Ed's men to expose it. Maybe Steve was right. I am putting my family at risk just too often. I have to think for you two now." He said kissing her. "Besides, we have a wedding to plan when we get back."

They all packed up the next day and they drove out that morning under the watchful eye of the security guard.

"Yes, that's her and that's the guy she was with that day in the square."

"David Vincent and his whole family to boot. Make the call, tell the base." The other man said as the cars disappeared from view.

Two days later David was at work when he received a phone call from Ed.

"Oh hi. Say when are you coming over here?

"Not for a week or so, yet."

"A week? Oh I get it. Just in time for my wedding."

"Oh, you fixed the date then?"

"Yeah, next Tuesday. It's going to be a quiet one seeing that my intended has been married before. Just family and friends."

"David. That base in Nevada you visited."

"Oh yeah, I was going to ask you how you got on with exposing it. I haven't heard anything over the radio or the believers website."

"Nothing was posted because when my men got there the place was deserted. They must have found you out after all."

David looked at the phone.

"Found me out?"

"I'm sorry pal. Even the site in Nebraska has been wiped clean. We'll get to the bottom of what went on there, David. We have all that information you obtained. I'll get someone to listen to us. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, erm sure. I'm sorry. I really thought we had them that time."

"Same here. Look, forget about it. You just get yourself married and we'll jump back on to the horse in a few weeks, ha?"

"Erm, okay. I'll see you next week."

"Sure thing."

David put the phone down and carried on with his work, but he couldn't help thinking about the base in Nevada and how he was exposed instead of the site. He drove home back to the farmhouse under the still watchful eye of the aliens.

Joanne walked out of the house to greet him.

"Well, good evening darling." She said kissing him.

The aliens watched him go in.

"That base in Nevada was wiped clean after we left."

"Well, that's good news. One up for us then."

"Wiped clean by the aliens. Someone must have found us out and the only one I can think it could have been was that security guard who recognised you."

"Meaning, what?"

"Meaning this might not be over yet." He said looking at her.

The situation was allowed to lie for a week as they prepared for their wedding.

David was getting ready for his bachelor party that evening when the phone rang.

"Hello."

"Hello Mr Vincent, this is your wife to be speaking."

"Joanne. Have you been hitting the sauce early today?"

"I'm entitled to have a drink or three on my last night of freedom."

"Last night of freedom again, ha? From myself the first time around and then your husband, ha?"

"Hmm, you're my husband, that's all I care about at the moment."

"You know, I shouldn't even be speaking to you, it's bad luck to see or even speak to each other before the big day."  
"I needed to hear your voice."

"You'll hear and see me in the morning. Go and enjoy your last night of freedom, Mrs Vincent."

"It's so wonderful to hear you say that. You know, I really do love you." She said then dropped the phone.

David looked at the receiver.

"I love you too, darling." He said then put it back on the hook and carried on.

Joanne walked through her living room and checked on her wedding dress when there was a knock at the door. She went to the door and opened it.

The next day David looked at himself in the bedroom mirror when Steve walked in.

"You know, it's not too late. You can call her. Put the wedding off like she did to you before." He said raising a laugh from his brother.

"Hey, now that was over five years ago. Maybe she was right when she said that we were too young. No, this feels right. Where are the children?"

"In the hallway lining up for the toilet."

"How does Claira seem to you? This is a big thing for her."

"She seemed fine to me. She asked what she was going to do while mummy and daddy would be on their honeymoon."

"Listen to her, mummy and daddy." He said laughing.

There was now a knock on the door.

"Look, could you get that for me. It's got to be Ed, tell him he's late, as usual."

"I'll tell him. You just relax."

"Relax, right?"

Steve disappeared from view.

David sat on the bed to catch his breath.

Steve now reappeared looking at him.

"That was quick, was it Ed?"

"No. Bro, you, you better get out here."

David looked at him then followed him out to the living room where a policeman was waiting for him.

"Mr David Vincent?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but, but we found a Miss Joanne Turner dead in her house this morning."

Steve watched for his brother's reaction.

"Dead?" He said looking at the policeman.

Ed now walked in behind them.

"Apparently she suffered some kind of attack yesterday. We are still waiting for a coroners report but we believe it to be a cerebral haemorrhage."

David stared at the policeman then Steve.

"We are truly sorry Mr Vincent. Your brother was just telling us that you were due to be married to Miss Turner today."

"Erm, yeah, yes I was."

The children now came rushing out from the back screaming and shouting.

"Kids, keep it down, will you." Steve said going over to them.

"What's wrong? Why are the police here, daddy?" Claira said going to him.

David looked at her.

"Maybe we should just get out of here, ha?" Ed said moving forward.

"No! Erm, if you wouldn't mind. I would like to tell my daughter on my own."

"Sure. Come on kids, let's get you home."

"But, what about the wedding today?" Sarah asked looking back.

"There will not be a wedding today, darling." David said looking up.

"Why not, daddy?" Claira asked watching him.

David took Claira's hand and led her into his bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Steve stared at the closed door then looked at Ed.

"Well Ed, who won this time, ha?" He said as he pulled the children past him and outside.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

**THE INVADERS**

**ABOUT A GIRL**

**Part 2**

A light breeze blew up the hill to the grave that day the Vincent's buried Joanne. Ed looked towards the direction of this breeze then back to the gathered congregation who were now starting to depart to the warmth of their awaiting limousines. He moved closer to Steve still hanging over the grave slightly to the left of David and Claira who had not moved an inch since the whole proceedings had started.

"Erm, Steve." He said then cleared his throat.

He chose not to look at him but allowed his eyes to wander and realised that Ed was checking his watch.

Ed now walked away but not without moving to stand behind David and touch his shoulder.

Steve now looked at him then waited until he was out of earshot.

"He's got a nerve." He said looking down.

Claira now moved to look at him.

"Steve." David said clearing his throat.

"Yeah."

"Would you mind taking Claira back to the car."

"Hurh?" Claira said now facing her father. "But, daddy I want to stay with you."

"Please, Claira." He said now looking at her.

She looked down and nodded.

"Okay."

Steve now took her hand.

"Thanks." David said and then kissed her.

She looked back to the grave.

"Goodbye, goodbye mummy." She said allowing Steve to lead her away.

David watched her go as Claira's words swirled around his head like the leaves on the grass around him that day.

David walked back in to the farmhouse late that afternoon to find that the ensemble that had attended that day had already attacked the prepared food.

The children now came rushing out from the back and stopped when they noticed him.

"Erm, hi uncle David, these are great sandwiches, why don't you try one." Sarah said picking up the plate.

"I'm not hungry."

Steve now walked out keeping a tight hold of Claira. David looked over to them.

Sarah and Annette now ran off grabbing the sandwiches as they went.

"Hey, you two, not on the bed!" He said watching them go then looked back to David.

"Erm, sorry about the mess. We have some very interesting guests that seem to have habits like monkey's." Steve said looking around.

David moved over to him and took Claira's hand and pulled her away.

Steve looked at him and sighed.

"Look, I'll erm, I'll clear up… I'll erm, get the kids and go, ha?"

"You do that."

"Right!"

Within minutes David and Claira were alone in their farmhouse. David moved to the kitchen and opened the fridge door to check its contents. He looked down and smirked.

"What's the matter?"

He looked at Claira then the fridge.

"Steven, he thinks of everything."

Claira moved round to look inside. She now looked at David and laughed.

"Well, I wish I could join you dad, but I'm under age."

David grabbed one of the many bottles of whisky that lined his fridge that day and moved over to the worktop.

Claira grabbed a glass and handed it to him. She jumped on to the stool and watched him pour out the drink.

He slowly swallowed the contents and looked at Claira watching him.

"Are you alright?"

"A-ha." She said then played with the patterns on the worktop.

David now stopped her and made sure she looked at him.

"I'm still here."

"I know." She said then looked back down.

David took the bottle and moved out of the kitchen turning off the light.

Claira watched his every move.

"Do you still love her?"

He looked at her.

"Every second in every minute of every hour of every day of my life. Does that answer your question?"

She nodded.

"Come on." He said holding out his hand.

She jumped off the stool and run to his side taking his hand. He kissed her head and moved over to the sofa.

Ed drove out to the cottage the next day to talk with Steve.

"Have you been up there yet?" Steve asked allowing Ed in.

"No. I would have thought that you would have been up there by now."

"Well, if I thought that it would make any difference I would be up there, but you wouldn't be getting any change from him, not at this early stage."

"Maybe if you went up there bearing gifts…" Ed said pulling out two air tickets from his jacket.

Steve looked at him holding the tickets.

Claira was in the kitchen when Steve walked in.

"Hi, darling." He said moving up to her for a kiss.

"Hello, uncle Steve."

"Is that brother of mine up, yet?"

"What if I wasn't?"

Steve looked out to see David walking in to the kitchen.

"David." He said watching him.

"Thanks for stocking up on the essentials."

"Hurh?" He said looking at him puzzled.

Claira grabbed his hand and pulled him to look at the fridge.

"Oh yeah, erm, sorry for that. It was an after thought." He said smirking.

"Some after thought. What do I put on my cornflakes, scotch?"

"Alright, I'll bring some milk up next time."

"Don't bother." He said grabbing the paper and sitting down.

"I've just had Ed on my doorstep."

"He still in town? What, has our hotels got better since he was last here?" David said starting to read the paper. Two airline tickets now fell in front of his vision. He looked at them then picked them up. "What are these?"

"Airline tickets, what do you think they are?"

David read them, looked at Claira then back to Steve.

"They have our names on them."

"That's because they're your tickets."

He pushed them away.

"Hey, now come one David." He said grabbing them.

"Give them back. Tell Ed to cash them in for a cheap one way ticket back to LA."

"David, this is two weeks in Jamaica. I wouldn't pass this up…"

"Great, well you have a nice time out there." He said taking the tickets from him and placing them in his shirt pocket.

Steve looked at him.

"He's not going to like this."

"Good!"

"You could both do with the break."

"Is that so?" He said looking at him then Claira watching him.

Steve now looked at her.

"What about you, darling, wouldn't you like to take a vacation?"

"I, I don't know uncle Steve."

"Well, don't you have a say in this?" He said watching her.

"It's whatever dad wants."

"Oh really? That's great, just great." Steve said pulling the tickets from his pocket and throwing them on to the worktop then left.

David watched him go then moved away.

Claira now focused in on the tickets.

"Where were you going to go for your honeymoon? You never really discussed it with me."

"Well, of course not. You were going to be here with trusty good old uncle Steve out there." He said pointing back.

"So, where were you going to go?" She said looking at him from the kitchen.

David looked over to her.

"England."

"What, at this time of year? Didn't they just have a snowstorm over there last month? You would have frozen to." She stopped and looked at David. She now picked up the tickets and moved out to him. "This destination, Jamaica, that would be warm this time of year."

"Yeah, I guess it would."

"I've never been abroad before."

"Yes, I know." He said sighing.

"It must be a good place to go to for a vacation."

"Jamaica? Yeah, it must be."

"Warmer than Huntington this time of year."

"Claira?"

"Yes daddy?"

"Shut up."

She moved in for a hug.

"We could be there tomorrow." She said looking at the tickets.

David now looked at them in her hand then Claira who was now looking at him.

"It wouldn't take us long to pack."

"No, I guess not." She said smiling.

Within the day they were in the town of Kingston and soon unpacking.

"I can't wait to head to the beach." Claira said noticing her swimming costume.

"All in good time kid. We do have two weeks here, remember."

"Two weeks, my mates at school are going to flip, not to mention Sarah and Annette." Claira said jumping on to her bed.

David watched her then moved in to his bedroom and started to unpack. He took out his jacket as something fell to the floor. He knelt down to pick it up. He stared at his wedding ring looking at him.

Claira now walked in and watched him.

"Erm, err." She said wondering where to look other than at her father.

He stood up.

"You want something?" He said putting the ring in his pocket and carrying on like nothing had happened.

She stared at him.

"No, nothing." She said then ran out.

That evening they walked down to the beach as the sun was starting to set.

David made sure that Claira was all right on the beach as he headed to a local watering hole and enjoyed a refreshing beer as he watched her playing.

A lady now moved in to sit next to him and ordered her drink. She slowly looked at David.

"Hello." She said playing with her swizzle stick.

"Hi." He said taking another draft on his fag. He now looked out to Claira again.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you waiting for your wife or someone?"

He looked at her sharply then looked down and laughed.

"No, no I'm not waiting for my wife or, or anyone for that fact. My daughter is out there and I'm just looking out for her, that's all."

"Your daughter." She said then looked at her drink.

They both carried on drinking.

Claira now ran up to David.

"Daddy." She said looking up.

"Yeah, darling."

"Could I have a drink?"

The lady now turned to look at them.

"Oh, excuse me but they don't sell pop drinks here, this is an adult bar. I think the bar over there…" She now realised that they were both looking at her. She looked away.

David paid for his beer and grabbed Claira's hand.

"Let's get you that drink, ha? Excuse me." David said looking at the lady then left.

She watched them head to the other bar area.

"Daddy?" She said looking back to the lady then up at David.

"Hmm?"

"Who was that lady?"

"I've no idea, darling."

She again looked at her.

Later that night David walked back to his hotel carrying his sleeping child. The lady that they had met at the beach bar was now propping up the hotel bar. She now noticed him.

"Well, hello again. You've worn her out, I see." She said looking at Claira hanging onto his chest.

He looked down then back to the lady watching him.

"Erm, yeah. Do, excuse me, but is this your hotel too?"

"A-ha. I'm here for the duration, R and R, rest and relaxation. I've just lost my job and need to replenish my resources.

"I see, so propping up the bar is one of those resources, yes?"

"Hmm, a small over sight on my part."

David laughed as Claira now stirred.

"Look, I have to get her to bed or she will be cranky all through breakfast, if not."

"You know your daughter."

"Oh yes, very much so." He said then looked at her. "Erm, I better go."

"Of course."

He moved away then stopped and turned back.

"I'll put her to bed then I'll meet you down here for a night cap. How about that?"

"Alright, okay, I accept."

"Great. I'll see you in a minute." He said smiling then went in to the lift and watched the doors close.

A few minutes later David reappeared and he moved up to her.

"What are you having?" He said checking his money.

"No, let me get these. It's only fair after making a mockery of our first meeting. Imagine me thinking that you were married." She said now finishing her drink and calling the waiter over.

David looked at her and laughed.

"Something funny?"

"No, you just seem so…"

"Forward?"

"Well, yeah I guess."

"I have this attitude that if a person can't take what I say with a pinch of salt they shouldn't even be wasting their time with me, or me with them, for that matter. I don't mean anything I say, well not when I'm in full control of my faculties."

David laughed again as the drinks were placed in front of them. He watched her raise her glass.

"I guess we haven't been formally introduced. My name is Nicola Hayman; I was born in Madison, Wisconsin some, oh, some years ago now and I have never been married or intend to be in the near future. I live alone with a big fat mortgage and a bill collector at every corner. How am I doing? Am I boring you already?

"No, as a matter of fact, your quite intriguing to me."

"Is that so? Well, I must be doing something right for once. I usually end up boring the pants off guys within the first hour. Stick around kid, the nights young. Who knows where we could be by morning." She said looking at him as she swallowed her drink.

Claira awoke to the early morning sun glinting through the see-through curtains that hung in her hotel bedroom that day. She looked around and remembered where she was. She now jumped out of bed and her room heading towards her fathers bedroom.

"Daddy?" She said opening the door and walking up to the bed.

David stirred.

"Hmm?" He said half awake.

Claira now jumped on to his bed and noticed that he wasn't alone.

"Erm, oh ohh, I think we've been found out, Indy." Nicola said focusing in on Claira staring at her.

David now jumped up and out of bed.

"Your pants!" Nicola said moving to grab them from the chair and throwing them to him.

Claira sat on the bed watching him with her mouth open wide.

Nicola made Claira now look at her.

"Nice set of tonsils."

"What, what are you doing in here?"

"Good question. No, what am I doing in here? I seem to remember talking with your father about, well, whatever. Oh yeah, erm, maybe you shouldn't be asking me that question. I'll erm, just grab my shoes and be out of here." Nicola said making sure the duvet was pulled around her, grabbed her clothes and went out.

Claira looked at David getting dressed. She now moved out to her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Nicola watched her go as she was getting dressed.

David now walked out and looked at the closed door.

"I'll erm, I'll just slip out the back door, ha?"

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need to be. I enjoyed it, really. Let's do it again some time, but maybe loose the off spring, ha?" She said moving forward to kiss him.

He stopped her.

"I will see you again?"

"Oh yeah, just look for my face in every bar. I'll be the one in the corner getting soused."

He watched her walk out the door and close it behind her.

David decided to take Claira for a walk on the beach. They did not talk which cut through him like a knife through butter. He noticed the time and felt his stomach rumble.

"Seeing that we did not have breakfast, do you want an early lunch?" He said breaking the ice and looked down to her.

Claira kicked the sand beneath her feet.

"I guess, whatever."

"Okay." He said pulling her on to a small café by the beach.

They were soon having their lunch.

David noticed that Claira was using her mobile phone.

"Hey, who are you texting?"

"Uncle Steve."

He now grabbed the phone from her.

"Hey dad, that's mine."

"Who pays for the calls? Look at this, dear uncle, I found dad in bed with…Well, she certainly wasn't a call girl. I'm not that desperate."

"You must be something dad, we only buried mum the other day."

He looked at her.

"When you get to my age you'll realise. People just click and last night, Nicola and I just, we just both needed someone to talk to." He said trying to think of something to say.

"Nicola? Is that her name?"

"Yes. She comes from Wisconsin."

"Hey, we haven't been to that state before."

"Your right, we haven't." He said finishing off his meal. "That's a state up from Illinois."

"Yeah and one over from Michigan."

"Hmm, I see your school is teaching you good."

"Oh yes, I guess it must be all that travelling we've done in our time together." She said tucking in to her desert.

David watched her as he remembered the reason why they were on holiday in the first place, the aliens killing his first and it would seem only love at that stage.

They were soon on the beach and enjoying themselves.

Nicola now appeared on the beach and headed towards them. Claira recognised her first.

"Hey look dad, that's Nicola."

David looked up and stopped in his tracks.

"Erm, yeah, so I can see."

They were soon not more than feet away from each other.

"Well, well, what a small world." Nicola said looking at them.

"Small beach." David said thinking of something to say.

She looked at him then Claira hanging by their feet.

"Hello Claira."

"You know my name, then?"

"Erm, yeah. Your father told me last night, amongst other things." She said then looked at David who was trying to look non-plussed. "How are you, David?"

"Fine, just fine." He said finally looking at her.

Nicola now whispered in Claira's ear.

"I think that your dad is feeling a little embarrassed after this morning."

Claira looked up to him looking down.

"What's going on?"

Claira stepped forward to her.

"My mummy died last week. They were due to get married the day she died."

"Yeah, I know. He told me that as well. Pillow talk, you know."

"Nicola, please. Look, we must be going."

"Where to dad? We are supposed to be on holiday."

"You know, I've been trying to tell him that all night. He needs to relax, maybe we could try something together to get him to relax, what do you say, Claira?"

"Yeah, great."

"Hmm, what could we do?" They started to walk on together.

They soon found themselves in another beach café that evening as Claira tried to sleep on David.

Nicola watched her as David started his drink.

"Your very well suited together."

"We only come as a pair, I guess the three some didn't work for us."

"Now who's lying?"

He looked at her then made sure Claira was all right as he moved forward to kiss her.

"I don't know what I would have done around if I hadn't have found you here."

"That's what they all say. You just needed cheering up David and I'm glad that I have done that for you." She said playing with her glass.

David moved even closer but the glass now fell forward and smashed in Nicola's hand.

"Damn, let me get that."

"No, no. It's alright." She said looking at her hand.

"Are you bleeding?" He said taking her hand.

"No!"

He now realised that the gash the glass had made produced no blood. He stared at her.

He made sure Claira was still asleep, paid for his drink and jumped up.

"David, David wait, I can explain."

"You don't have to. I know what you are."

"No you don't, look…"

"Your one of them. What, did they send you over here to check up on us?"

"Hurh? Check up on you?" She looked down. "Wait a minute, David Vincent." She looked back up. "Of course, your him, I mean. David, I didn't know. I'm not exactly up on our information board lately. What I was talking about earlier is all-true. I am in financial ruin, and I don't think that they would go out of their way and help me. I wasn't really put on this planet to take you over like they want to."

"Save it for some other sucker, because you're full of it. I should have realised, the reason why you were so fast. They trained you for this, ha, some call girl." He said walking away.

She watched him go.

The next morning David was quiet over breakfast.

"This is beginning to get like home."

"Hurh?"

"The atmosphere in here. I thought that we are supposed to be on holiday."

"We are."

"Then what has happened since yesterday? I thought that we were having a whale of a time with Nicola."

David looked away which made Claira put two and two together and make five.

"What happened while I was asleep? Did you two…?"

"No, we did not. I don't intend to have anymore relationships with that, look, just forget it, will you."

Claira looked at him.

Later that morning, Claira went down to the beach and soon found Nicola propping up another bar.

"Hi Nicola."

She turned round,

"Claira, well, what? Is David with you?" She said looking around.

"No. He didn't fancy the walk today. I've left him in the hotel moping around like we were back at home."

"Really?"

"What are you doing here so early?" She said noticing the drink.

"Is it early? I thought it was still late. I guess that I've been here all night, feeling sorry for myself. Wasting my money on this stuff." She said looking at the glass then her un-cut hand. She looked at Claira as she realised that David had not told her that she was an alien. "Erm, do you fancy a walk?"

"Okay. It's a nice morning."

"You know what Claira, you took the words right out of my mouth, come on." She said taking her hand and walking off.

David soon left the loneliness of his room and went for a walk on the beach. He soon noticed Claira running along the beach enjoying herself with Nicola. Claira now noticed him and run up to him.

"Hi dad." She said hugging him then looking back for Nicola slowly siding up to them.

"Hello David, did you have a nice sleep?"

He looked at her, which allowed Claira to go back to her.

"I found Nicola in the bar."

"Really? Obviously the same bar that I left you in last night." David said looking at her.

"You're correct, yes. I didn't fancy the walk back to our hotel. I drowned my sorrows in to my Margarita's and caught some sleep under the stars." She said looking up.

"The same stars that you fell out of some time ago, ha?"

"David please, we can talk."

"What's going on, daddy?"

"Do you want to tell her or shall I?"

"I was surprised you didn't tell her this morning."

"Well, I was hoping that one of us was dreaming."

"Our making love wasn't a dream. I told you I enjoyed it and I know that you did, two." She said looking at him.

"Daddy?" Claira said moving up to him.

He watched Nicola then walked off.

"What's happening between you two?" Claira asked watching Nicola.

"I don't know yet. What would you like for us to happen between your father and me, Claira?" She said taking her hand.

"You could keep him happy. He needs to be happy after, after."

"Yes, I understand that darling, maybe if things were different your father would be happy."

Nicola went back to her favourite bar and sat there watching Claira walk with David along the beach.

"Two days in to this holiday and it's like we're back in Utah. Some Utah, ha?" She said kicking the sand,

"Some holiday." David said lighting up a fag and walking on.

"Nicola seems alright."

He looked at her.

"Really?"

"Is the reason why your so off with her today because I caught you two together in bed?"

"Claira, this has nothing to do with you. The reason why I'm not, that I just don't want to talk with her today us not because of anything you have done. Maybe it's something I did, something that I didn't even know anything about and I let it happen."

"You made love to her, big deal. You've made love to mother before, alright so two nights after you've buried her might be a record, but dad, it shows your getting over her, and quite quickly too, by my reckoning." Claira said looking up to see David looking down.

"What is this? You're actually forgiving me here?"

"If that's what it takes to lift you out of this, this whatever you call it your in at the moment. Hey, don't forget that I'm on holiday here two you know. Whatever you do or don't do in this case rubs off on me too."

David looked out to the sea then back to the beach bar Nicola was in. He stubbed out his fag and took Claira's hand. He moved back to the bar and moved up to her.

"Hi." He said quietly.

"Hello."

He looked at Claira then back to Nicola.

"Look erm, about last night. Can we start again?"

She looked at him then nodded.

"Yes."

He moved forward to kiss her.

Nicola looked at Claira who was smiling as she gave the thumbs up sign.

They carried on talking for what seemed like the rest of the day. They waked to a small restaurant and ordered dinner. Afterwards they wandered back to the beach for a sunset walk.

Claira soon used David as his pillow as they enjoyed another drink at their favourite bar.

Nicola watched Claira sleeping.

"I'm glad you didn't tell her."

"Well, there's kind of another story behind why I didn't tell her that your were." He said looking at her as grabbed his drink and swallowed its contents.

"Oh? And what is that?"

"If Claira was to find out that you were an alien, you'd get more than the cold shoulder treatment that I gave you this morning."

"Hmm, I think that I can understand that. So I understand you've been trying to turn the world on to our onslaught for some years now."

David now lit a fag and looked at her.

"I thought that you said you didn't have anything to do with them?"

"And I don't. It's what you pick up along the way. We are here you know, you can't ignore that fact."

"Soon not to be if I have anything to do with it."

"I wish you ever success in your fight, I'm just here to enjoy myself and get plastered ever night. How am I doing?" She said finishing her drink.

"I'll get you another one."

She looked down and laughed then noticed Claira again.

"Maybe we should be getting back, for Claira's sake."

He looked down at her sleeping then nodded.

They soon reached the hotel and Nicola's room.

"Well, thank you for a nice day. I really enjoyed myself."

"So did I." He said stealing a kiss from her.

"I will see you in the morning?"

"Unless something terrible happens, yes."

"Oh, heaven forbid. Thanks again for,."

"Don't mention it. I mean if you do Claira might catch on." He said kissing her.

"Night." She said watching him.

"Bye."

The door closed in front of him and then he moved back to his room and put Claira to bed. He looked back to the door of his room then moved to the phone and picked it up to dial Nicola's room.

"Hello?"

"Hi."

Nicola looked at the phone.

"Well, you don't waste time, do you?

"I could say the same about you. Dragging an innocent young man in to bed on his first night here."

"Claira okay?" She said making small talk.

"She's fine, sleeping soundly."

"Then, what are you waiting for? Get the hell over here."

The phone went dead and Nicola laughed.

David managed to get back to his room before Claira awoke that morning and they enjoyed breakfast downstairs for a change.

Nicola walked through the breakfast area and grabbed a plate checking on the array of food open to her.

"Hey dad, there's Nicola."

"Hurh, erm yeah, so I see."

"Can I call her over here?"

"If she heads this way, yes."

Nicola slowly made her way out and Claira soon attracted her attention.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"I don't mind, do you mind, daddy?"

"No. Go right ahead."

Nicola was enjoying breakfast when she noticed someone.

"Look, will you excuse me for a minute."

"Are you alright?" David asked watching her.

"I will be. You two carry on, I wont be long."

David watched her go out.

Nicola went out to the reception area to meet with her friend. She watched him light up a cigarette as his trademark finger stood out.

"Nicola."

"Tony."

"You haven't been calling me lately. Solvent on money again for a few days, are we?"

"I'm surviving or the generosity of others. Maybe you should try it sometime."

The alien took another drag on his fag.

"Who's the guy with the kid?"

"A lost soul. He's here for two weeks R and R and I'm helping him spend his money."

"Anything I should know about him?"

"I said he's just a lost soul. Mr average nobody."

"Hey, easy. I was just asking. You were trained well. Make sure you don't mess up with this one."

"I wont. I always get what I want in the end."

"Darling, what you want and what I want are two completely different things." He said touching her.

There was a cough heard behind them.

"Nicola?"

She spun round.

"Oh, David, hi."

"Anything wrong?"

"Hey, believe me man, I wasn't getting in on your girlfriend back there." The alien said holding up his hands in defence of his recent action.

David looked at him.

"She's not my girlfriend and even if she was it wouldn't bother me. Nicola, we're going to the beach. Do you want to join us?"

"Erm, give me a minute. I'll join you outside."

David looked at her, nodded then kissed her and left with Claira looking back.

"Not his girlfriend, ha? Doesn't seem that way to me. You have really worked on this one, even his kid too."

"Does that mean I get an allowance?"

"Test case for my guinea pig farm? If you can deliver them to me by the end of the week, totally under your control." He said finishing his fag then moving forward to kiss her. "You may just have hit the jackpot on this one darling."

Nicola walked out of the hotel and up to David standing aside Claira.

"Okay?" He said kissing her.

"Hmm, I am now."

They walked down to the beach.

The alien watched them go then got in to his car and headed out of town to his base on the island. A message was waiting for him via his email system. He checked its contents, which read.

"Alert status. David Vincent has been seen boarding a plane to the Jamaican island, with his daughter. Information on the Vincent's follows. Report when sighted."

He pressed another button as a picture came appeared on his screen. He immediately recognised him and quickly printed off all the information. Tony then drove back to Kingston and pulled up by the beach as he noticed David with Claira and Nicola.

"Well, well, Mr David Vincent, on my island and completely under the control of one of my girls. Time for a little more pay back." He said watching them.

That evening Tony managed to grab Nicola as she walked out of her room.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

He pushed himself up against her.

"Do you mind, I don't go for your type."

"No, but you go for Vincent's, though, don't you?"

She looked at him.

"Vincent's?"

"Yeah, I know his name Nicola. His face is plastered all over my computer back at the base. Imagine David Vincent here and he's fallen for you."

She looked away.

"He hasn't fallen for me. We hardly know each other."

"Oh really? So, that kiss he gave you this morning at breakfast was just my imagination, ha?"

She moved away. He stopped her.

"What? Don't tell me you feel the same way? He's the enemy, Nicola!"

"No! He's your enemy Tony, not mine. I gave all that up to have a free ride, remember?" She said now physically pushing him out of the way and heading out of the hotel.

Tony followed her to the bar and watched her.

"Look, that money you owe me… I could write it off in a second if you do one more job for me." He said paying for her drink.

"I don't need your hand outs anymore Tony, I've graduated." She said throwing his money back at him.

"Not in the right department, if you ask me."

"I didn't."

Tony now grabbed her and kissed her hard. At first she struggled but she soon gave in to his advances. He now pulled away watching her trying to savour the moment.

"I want the family killed, tonight. You know what you have to do. I'll leave it up to you to sort out when and where." He said kissing her and then leaving it to her.

She ordered another drink.

David looked at his watch while lying on his bed back at the hotel. He now went back to staring at the ceiling. The door opened to the other room and he noticed Claira walk in.

"What are you doing here? I thought that you would be with Nicola or something." She said looking back.

"So did I, but…" He said getting up and sighing.

"Well, why don't you go over to her local bar and hang out there for a while? I'll be okay back here."

He watched Claira grab the remote to the television and jump on to his bed.

"I suppose it would be best. You kicking the kid out of the room so you can get some peace and quiet ha?" He said grabbing Claira for a hug.

"For once in my life, yeah." She said nudging him.

"Oh well, alright then I will vacate my room on my daughters wishes." He said kissing her then grabbed his jacket and went out.

Claira looked at the closed door and laughed then concentrated on the tele.

David moved through the hotel and out onto the street to head to the beach bars.

Nicola was now on her fifth double when David appeared.

"Evening."

She turned and tried to focus in on him.

"David?"

"Correct. How many of those have you had?"

"One, two, three… I lost count after that."

"I'm taking you back to your room. Claira has mine for the evening so you can sleep it off back at yours." He said attempting to help her off her bar stool.

"No, I wanna stay here. Here where I belong."

"Nicola, you're causing a scene."

"I don't care. All these guys know me anyway. Hi there, yo!" She said waving to everyone in the bar as David led her out.

Tony watched them from the comfort of his car as David pulled Nicola over the road to the hotel and into her room.

He placed her on her bed.

"Why don't you leave me to die?"

"Because I don't want to see the room go red tonight or in the future for that matter. Your drunk, just sleep it off."

"I love you David." She said laughing.

David looked at her and took her response as the joke it was intended to be. He sat down on the edge of the bed. Nicola got up and moved up to him and started to kiss him.

Claira fell asleep on David's bed and stayed there all night.

David returned to his room early that morning and quickly took a shower. Claira now woke up and looked around. She rubbed her eyes as David walked out of the bathroom.

"Morning." He said starting to dry himself.

Claira looked around the room.

"Are we alone?"

"A-ha."

"Well, where's Nicola?"

"In her room probably, that's where I left her."

"Oh, okay." She said jumping out of his bed.

"Are you alright?" He said stopping her.

"I'm fine. I guess, I just thought that, well,"

"Erm, no. You guessed wrong there. I did spend some time with her but I am not that mad that I'd neglect you in any way." He said kissing her.

Claira looked at him then went in to the bathroom and closed the door watching him.

David carried on drying himself and then got dressed.

They soon went downstairs and had breakfast. David collected a doggy bag and after breakfast took it upstairs to Nicola's room.

Claira walked in behind David and noticed Nicola still asleep.

"Maybe she fancies the lie in."

"Shoosh." He said looking at her.

"You don't have to whisper. I can hear every word your saying." Nicola said opening her eyes.

"Good morning." David said moving in next to her. "I took the liberty of making you up a doggy bag."

"A doggy bag, are you mad?" She said looking away.

Claira moved around the bed and watched them.

"Maybe a glass of water." Claira said moving to the side table.

"On top of, say how many margaritas did you down last night?" David now asked turning to face Nicola.

Claira now stepped back.

"Your enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Well let's just say I have a limit. What's yours?" He said folding his arms.

"When this room turns red then you'll know I've reached my limit."

"Turns red? What? Dad, is she a?" Claira now forged forward and grabbed her hand but it was normal.

"Claira, take it easy." David said rising to his feet.

"Take it easy?" Claira now looked around for a ring.

"What? What are you looking for?" Nicola asked watching her.

"I can't see a ring." She said then grabbed the glass and smashed it on the side of the table and headed towards Nicola.

David now grabbed her hand as she realised she had cut herself and then started to cry.

"I can't even tell if their alien anymore." She said looking at her blooded hand.

"Come in to the bathroom." David said pulling her back.

Nicola followed them, which upset Claira, and she ran out.

"You should have told her that I was an alien and maybe this would never had happened."

"Stay here. I'll handle this."

Nicola watched him run after her then moved back to her bed and started to get dressed.

David ran out of the hotel and soon found Claira on the beach checking her hand.

"Claira."

She looked up and tried to bolt away from him but he grabbed hold of her.

"Now stop fighting with me, you're bleeding!"

"Yeah, that's because I can, unlike your would-be girlfriend back there."

David stopped and looked at her.

"Now that was uncalled for." He said wrapping his handkerchief around her hand.

Claira now pushed him away and headed further on to the beach.

He slowly followed.

Nicola walked out of the hotel and noticed them. She now saw Tony in his car watching her. She quickly went out to David trying to keep up with Claira.

"David."

They both stopped and looked back.

"She can't leave you alone for a minute. I should have realised she was one of them."

"Hasn't it ever occurred to you that she might be out here to check if you were alright?"

Claira looked away.

David allowed Nicola to move up to him. She looked at Claira then back to David.

"How is she?"

"Why don't you ask her that?"

Claira looked away.

Nicola moved up to her and noticed her hand.

"Claira?"

"What?"

"Claira!" David said staring at her.

"It's all right, David, erm, how's your hand?"

"Fine."

Nicola now knelt down to her.

"I'm sorry."

Claira didn't look at her.

"We should have told you."

Claira now looked at her.

"We?"

Nicola now stood up and looked at David then moved away.

David watched her go then looked at Claira.

"Why didn't you tell me dad?"

He looked down and then straight back up to her.

"What could I have told you Claira? Sorry, but I've fallen for an alien? Your parents were alien, and your mother was murdered by them!"

Claira stared at him then shook her head and moved away.

David had no choice but to leave her to cool off and he headed back to Nicola at her favourite bar.

Tony moved up to the opposite end and watched them.

"Do you want to join me this early on in the morning?" She said grabbing her glass.

"No, thank you." He said handing her glass back to the waiter.

"Hey!"

"Look, we're both as much to blame for this so I would like you to be in a coherent position when she is ready to talk, okay?"

She looked at him and nodded.

"Thank you."

Nicola now noticed Tony and started to worry again.

Claira played on the beach most of the morning and then moved slowly back to David now having a drink with Nicola.

She moved up to him then looked at Nicola.

"Do you want a coke?"

"Erm, thank you, yes."

David pulled out a chair and watched her sit down next to him as he ordered her a drink.

Her drink soon arrived and she slowly sucked on her straw wishing not to look at the two adults around her.

Nicola watched her then noticed that she was sunburnt.

"I have some cream for that sunburn, Claira. Do you want me to rub some on you?"

She now pushed her head into David's chest.

"Daddy."

He held her.

"It's okay darling. Nicola, give me the cream, I'll rub it on her."

"No!" Claira said stopping him.

They looked at her now move to Nicola. She slowly sat down next to her and allowed her to rub the cream in to her.

David smiled and moved forward to kiss her.

"I knew you'd understand." He said then looked at Nicola who was smiling at him.

That evening they all walked out of the bar and back to their hotel.

Tony was reading the evening's paper when they walked in.

"Nicola!" He said moving over to them.

"Tony." She said sighing but at least acknowledging him.

"Could I talk to you?" He now looked at David. "Alone?"

David now coughed.

"We'll just go up to our rooms. I'll see you up there, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Tony stepped back as David kissed her and moved away.

Nicola watched him go then moved over to the desk.

"That was uncalled for."

"Uncalled for? Nicola, you owe me, big time! Do you know who he is?"

Nicola looked towards the lift that David and Claira had just entered.

"I can't and I wont help you, Tony. I, I just wont jeopardise this, this." She turned away and Tony grabbed her.

"So, you have fallen for him."

Nicola stared at him.

"Maybe I have and what can you do about it? If I went to him now and told him that you were an alien and that you had asked me to hand him over to you, your game would be up."

"It's his game that would be up Nicola. To finally be rid of the Vincent's', the world would then be ours for the taking."

"Aren't you forgetting one thing? I'm not interested in this world. I'm only here for the bar tab, remember?" She said then headed to the lift and pressed the button.

Tony moved up to her.

"You leave me no choice, Nicola."

She looked at him.

"No choice, for what, exactly?"

"No choice for you, the Vincent's. One phone call, that's all it will take. Now, if it was left to you, I wouldn't have to worry." He said as he kissed her.

"Excuse me. Do you require this lift?" A man said behind them.

Tony now let her go and headed out of the hotel and into his car.

Nicola walked out of the lift and touched her lip as David appeared in the corridor. She composed herself and moved towards him.

"I was wondering what had kept you."

"Oh, just another one of those lost souls at the bar." She said moving up to him.

"Who was that guy anyway? That's twice you've met with him now. Have I got some competition here?"

Nicola laughed and kissed him.

"Of course not. Your mine, Mr Vincent, all mine." She said starting to kiss him. She looked back to the door. "Claira alright?"

"A-ha."

They looked at each other.

"Are you alright?"

"Hmm, I will be." He said opening the door and leading her in.

Tony drove out to his house on the other side of the island and looked at his phone as he walked in. He hovered around it for some time, checked his watch then grabbed the receiver and started to dial a number.

"It's Tony in Kingston. I just thought you'd like to know something. Yeah, David and Claira Vincent are on the island. They've been here nearly a week and he's hitched up with one of my girls, that's right, Nicola. Sure, I'd let you have them, just leave me Nicola, she's all I've got." He said turning to look at the picture of Nicola on his desk.

David awoke the next morning in bed with Nicola sleeping beside him. He slowly got up and went into the shower.

Claira opened up the inner door that led to her room and moved through to the foot of the bed and watched Nicola sleeping. She stirred and turned over to notice that the sun was up.

"Awhh, is it morning already?" She said stretching.

"Nearly seven!" Claira said moving round to look at her.

She stared at her.

"Oh, morning Claira."

"Is dad in the shower?"

"Hurh, umm, possibly, I don't know."

"Well, if he is, bags me gets it next!"

"Oh, really?" She said jumping out of bed and following her in to the bathroom.

David was busy shaving when Claira ran in with Nicola after her.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

"Nicola is going to beat me in to the shower, stop her daddy."

"That's not fair to involve the family, Claira, this is a girl fight!" Nicola said now grabbing her.

"Would you two mind leaving me in peace for a while longer? The water hasn't had time to heat up yet for any of you to take a shower, so, if you would excuse me." He said pushing them out.

"Spoil sport." Nicola said looking at him.

"Yeah, dad's a spoil sport!"

"I'm a spoil sport ha? I'll show you who's a spoil sport!" He said chasing after them.

That evening they went for a meal at one of the restaurants along the beach. Tony and the men he had called were there watching them.

"That's my girl who's with them. I don't want her messed up in this."

"From what you've told us, she's already messed up in this. Vincent has fallen for her, yes?"

"Yes, but…" He looked away.

"What?"

"It's complicated, okay. I just want him off this island. She had her chance and she blew it. I'll fix him for messing with one of my girls." He said getting up and moving out passed them.

David recognised him.

"There's your pal again."

Nicola now looked at him then back to the men that he was with.

"Nicola."

"Hurh?" She said now facing him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? Why would there be anything wrong?"

David now took her hand.

"You can talk to me, you know. We have no secrets between each other. We are, well," He looked at Claira looking on. "We are…"

"Hmmm, another one who can't show his feelings. You didn't seem to have any trouble with that last night or for the past few nights as I seem to recall."

"Nicola, please."

The menu's arrived.

"You know suddenly I don't feel hungry. Maybe a nice walk back to my favourite bar might be in order. Drown my, umm, whatever we have or had, ha?"

"Nicola." He said grabbing her.

"Excuse me!" She said getting up and walking out.

The alien men watched her go then slowly paid for their meal and left.

Nicola walked along the beach for a while then headed to her bar and ordered a drink. Tony moved up behind her and sat down next to her.

"What happened to the family atmosphere? Did it finally get to you?"

"Back off Tony, I'm not in the mood!"

"I have backed off, only to let my friends take over." Tony said watching the men walk in.

Nicola stared at them as they approached her.

"Miss Hayman, could we talk with you for a moment?"

"I've nothing to say to you." She said looking away.

They grabbed her.

"I think that you do."

"Hey!" She said struggling.

Tony now stopped them.

"You said you wouldn't hurt her."

"A little gentle persuasion, that's all."

Tony moved closer to Nicola.

"All they want is the family. They are not interested in you or me." He said then kissed her. "Call me, I'm all you've got." He said then left.

Nicola now looked at the men again.

David decided to leave the restaurant without ordering and moved along the beach back to the hotel. Claira stayed behind him which made him turn back to notice her then the bar that Nicola was in. Claira looked up and realised he was staring at it.

"Ermm, could I go onto the beach for a while, dad? I'm not tired just yet."

This broke his concentration.

"Hurh, oh erm, alright, for a while then. I'll erm, I'll…" He pointed to the bar.

"Okay."

One of the men noticed David heading towards the bar so they quickly left the bar and allowed David to go in.

Nicola soon noticed him and waited for him to join her. She went back to playing with her swizzle stick.

"Hi." He said through almost dry lips.

"Hey." She said silently.

He ordered a drink and watched the waiter serve it then walk away.

"Look, we need to talk."

"Do we? I seem to remember that your talk involved saying nothing."

"Nicola, you know you mean a lot to me. After Joanne died I clammed up, I wanted to be known as mister indestructible. The Vincent's, nothing could break through them, especially not the aliens, but they did and I guess I'm never going to stop paying for that."

Nicola looked away which made David reach in his pocket for his cigarette case. Joanne's wedding ring fell onto the bar as he put the case down. Nicola looked at it as he picked it up.

"What's that?"

"My wife's wedding ring. Except she was never really my wife, because I never had the chance to put it on her finger."

"It's beautiful."

"Thanks. That's what Joanne said when, when I proposed to her."

"Was that in some shady bar like this one?"

He looked down and laughed. "No, it was in my farmhouse back in Utah." He said then looked back at her.

"A nice peaceful setting." She said going back to sipping her drink.

David watched her for a moment then looked at the ring.

"Would it matter where someone proposed to you?"

"No, it wouldn't matter. I mean, it's just four little words, I've been proposed to many times before. You know there was this one time…"

"Will you marry me?"

Nicola stopped and stared at him. She then laughed it off.

"You know, for a minute there, I thought that you were serious."

"I am serious, Nicola, will you marry me?"

They stared at each other for a while with the aliens looking on from the back of the bar.

"You'll have to give me a minute here, that talk back there about being proposed to many times before, I…"

"Well, I gave Joanne seven years to think about it. She finally said yes the second time around."

"I don't need seven years." She looked at her watch. "Yep, that should just about do it! Yes, I will marry you." She added smiling.

David moved forward and kissed her. They now looked at the ring. He slowly placed it on her finger.

"I can't wait to tell the family."

"Well, Claira's only on the beach, why don't you go and get her?"

"Your right, I will. Stay right there, I'll be back!" He said kissing her then running out.

Nicola smiled, looked at the ring then to the aliens looking on. She now moved to the entrance of the bar as one of the aliens approached her.

"This doesn't change a thing Nicola. David and Claira Vincent will die, right here if it is deemed necessary."

She watched the men leave then waited for David to appear with Claira in tow.

"She's a little bit tired. We might have to do this all again tomorrow."

"I don't mind. As long as it's with you, who cares."

David looked at her then they kissed.

"I love you."

"I, I love you too."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

They now kissed again. Claira was left to sleep on.

The next morning they had breakfast in bed where Claira joined them.

"Wow dad, how much is this extra on your bill?"

"It's not my bill. Scoville arranged the vacation, so he can pay for the services, including this one."

They started to tuck in.

Claira now noticed the ring.

"Hey, Nicola shouldn't that ring be on your little finger? You know, to hide the fact that you're an alien.

Nicola looked at the ring then David.

"Nicola doesn't need the ring, darling. She's done very well without it since we've known her, hasn't she?"

"Yeah, but, well, why has she got…" Claira looked closer. "Hey, that's my mum's ring, hurh, dad?" She said turning to him.

David pulled her in to him.

"Darling, Nicola is wearing your mum's wedding ring because last night I proposed to her and she kindly accepted." He said looking at Nicola then kissing her.

"You proposed to her?"

"Yes!"

"But, but I wasn't there."

"Well, I'm sorry you missed it. We could do it again for the camera's if you like." He said kissing her.

"No, no. It's all right. Have you called uncle Steve back home?"

"Not yet, no."

"Well, could I?"  
"After some breakfast, yes."

"Breakfast can wait!" She said jumping off the bed.

"Hey!" David said after her.

She ran to the door and stopped to look back. She then ran back to them and gave them a hug.

"This is just great. This is better than great. The whole family is going to be ecstatic!" She said running back out.

"Well, if the whole family aren't going to be ecstatic, we know who is already." David said then turned to look at Nicola. He kissed her. "Hi."

"Hi." She said acknowledging him.

David now pushed the tray away.

Claira ran up a long phone bill talking to Steve, then Sarah and then Annette. David came in some hours later to find Claira back on the phone to Steve.

"Who are you calling now?"

"Your brother and for your information, he called me. He wants to talk to you."

"Fine. This means you told him that my fiancé is and alien?"

"Well, it kind of crept in to my conversation with him."  
"A-ha? Like, 'guess what uncle Steve, daddies marrying an alien."

Claira stared at him.

"Well, how did you know that?"

"I don't know. How did I know that?" He said grabbing the phone from her as she moved away. "Hi Steve."

"Bro! I just heard the news."

"You don't have to cover for her either, I know what Claira's like, she's my daughter!"

"Okay, okay, so the original call was some hours ago, but good news, bro!"

"Yeah, now if we can only get back to the States without any of the aliens finding out."

"You've got three more days out there, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Then relax! I'll call Scoville and he'll handle everything this side."

"What? Do you mean to say Claira hasn't called him, yet?" He said looking back to her watching him.

"Very funny, daddy."

"You're a lucky man, David. You've been through a lot, you deserve this, now look after yourself and the family."

"I intend to. Thanks Steve, you're the best brother anyone could ever wish for."

"Hey, I should be saying that to you, you adopted this wreck of an alien. I love you man, good luck."

David dropped the receiver and looked at Claira. He now moved over to her and they hugged.

Nicola decided to go shopping in the little market in town. Tony noticed her and soon moved up to her.

"Well, if it isn't the bride to be."

She looked back and stared at him.

"They certainly don't waste time in telling you."

"Well what did you expect, after what we've meant to each other."

"Yeah, meant, as in past tense. Goodbye Tony, it was nice while it lasted." She said trying to move away.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side.

"They'll kill you along with the Vincent's. Do you want that? Nicola, you've done nothing wrong. Your one of my girls, that's all."

She stared at him.

He moved in to kiss her. She moved back.

"You can't be like them. You don't belong to them, you belong to me!" He said forcing her to kiss him.

Tony now looked at her and then moved away. She watched him go then carried on.

Nicola walked back to the hotel and up to her room.

David appeared from his room and went in to Nicola's

"I've been talking to Steve, you know about getting back to the States at the weekend."

Nicola looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"The whole family can't wait to meet you."

"I better make sure I have everything in order then otherwise I will not be going anywhere." She said moving to the bedside drawer.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure, why, don't I look okay?"

"I don't know, you just seem a little edgy since you returned. Did anything happen while you were out?"

"No! Nothing happened while I was out. Look David, I'm sorry but can we postpone today, I erm, I've got kind of a headache, you know."

He watched her.

"Yeah, alright. I'll erm come and collect you this evening. We can all go out for a walk along the beach, maybe get a take-out."

"Sure, whatever."

He moved to the door.

"Are you sure?"

"David, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." She said smiling and watched him leave.

She turned away and let out a big rush of air.

Tony returned to his house on the other side of the island and noticed the black sedan. He entered his home to find the men waiting for him.

"Well, what are you all doing here? The real actions happening at Vincent's hotel."

"We have a man watching the hotel. Nicola has returned to her room and is currently alone. Vincent is with his daughter."

"Yeah, but that could all change."

"I'm sure that we would be notified if indeed the situation does change." The head of this alien group said moving to Tony's table and picking up the picture he had of Nicola on his desk.

"You and Nicola were very close, yes?"

"We are very close, yes!" He said taking the picture from him and looking at it. "She's my girl" He added then looked at the other alien.

"Your girl? Do you love her?"

"I love all my girls."

"No, I said, do you love her?"

Tony stared at him then the picture.

"I thought that we had something special going once, it seems like I was wrong."

"Jealousy can be a cruel disease at times."

"Jealousy? What do you mean?"

"In a fit of rage you went out and killed the man that had stolen your girl away from your loving arms. It can be easily explained to the right authorities. I can see the Kingston Times now. 'Jealous lover kills the man who stole his girl.'"

"No, I wont do it!"

"You want your girl back in your loving arms, don't you, Tony?"

He looked at him.

The next day everything seemed fine and Nicola was casually back to her normal self. They went to the beach and took a long walk along it.

"About yesterday."

"Oh, David, it was nothing. Call it ladies time of the month, if I could ever have them."

David stopped her. "No, hear me out for a second, ha? Are you worried about going back to the States with us?"

Nicola looked at him.

"I know you said that as you have no interest in alien affairs because of your recent problems and that the States might not pose much of a fret to you, but you really have nothing to worry about. The minute we get back I'll have Scoville work out a new identity for you. Although I told Joanne not to worry and they got to her, I know that this is right and you and I will work this out."

"David, I'm not worried, really. I trust you and I know that you will look after me and in return I will look after you and Claira for that matter."

"Well, thank you. No, I guess that we could never forget Claira." He said watching her walk ahead then turned to look at Nicola. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They now kissed.

From the main road, the aliens sat in their car watching their every move along the beach.

They returned to the hotel some time later to find Tony now propping up the bar.

"Ah great, what does he want?" Nicola said staring at him.

"Leave him. He means nothing to you now." David said pulling her on.

"I know but," She looked at him.

"Nicola!"

"David please, I'll be up in a moment. I promise."

He sighed as he looked away. He then sharply turned back to her.

"A moment."

She smiled and kissed him gently then watched him climb the stairs. She now faced Tony and moved over to him.


	5. Chapter 5

**THE INVADERS**

**TEASE**

Sarah ran after Claira as they left their school to meet the bus that afternoon.

"Hey, wait for me.., I've got a lot of school work to catch up on this weekend." Annette said running up behind them.

"Hurry up then, the bus is about to go." Claira said climbing aboard.

"Well, excuse me, Miss Vincent." She said sarcastically then jumped on and found a seat away from them.

Claira looked back as the bus neared their home.

"We better be going." She said getting up.

"Shall I tell Annette? She seems busy with her course work." Sarah said looking back.

"She knows where we live, let her walk back." She said jumping off.

They watched the bus pull away and they run up the lane.

"Coming up to the farmhouse?"

"Sure." Sarah said following.

They soon walked in and started to run amok.

David returned home with Steve and they walked in.

"I can see what they've been up to again." David said moving to the living room.

"I can't understand what three kids can get up to in a few hours."

David looked around. "Erm Steve, two. Claira and Sarah." He said looking at him.

"Annette? Annette? Kids, where the hell is Annette?" He said looking at them.

Sarah turned to Claira.

"Why don't you tell him, you orchestrated it and you are the oldest." Sarah said ducking out.

"Thanks cus thanks a lot!"

"Claira!" David now shouted.

"She didn't get off the bus at our stop."

"What?" Steve said panicking

"You mean you didn't tell her your stop was coming up?" David said looking at her.

"Well." She said looking down.

"I'm calling the police." Steve said grabbing the phone in the kitchen.

"She was busy with all her course work, Uncle David." Sarah said going to him.

"Don't cover for her Sarah, your as much an accomplis as Claira, here."

"We'll rendezvous with the police at school. The bus must have returned there." David said grabbing his keys.

"Dad." Claira said stepping forward.

He looked back.

"Can…?"

"Don't even think it. When and if we get back with Annette you two are for the high jump."

"You're grounded, the both of you for a month!" Steve said moving forward.

"A month, but Uncle Steve…!"

"Do you want me to double it?" David said stepping forward.

Claira stepped back and they watched them leave.

"See Claira…? You don't win, you never do with them." Sarah said jumping on to the sofa.

Claira noticed the flashlight.

"It's going to be dark soon."

"Great. They'll never find her."

"Maybe, maybe not. Come on!"

"Hurh?"

"We know the stops the bus made after the lane. If we cut across dad's field we can make it to the intersection before our parents."

"Why bother? The police have been alerted, they'll pick her up stuck down a storm drain or something, back in town."

"What if they don't? Then we'll have to answer more questions Sarah and I don't want that at the moment. When my dad offered to double my grounding, I, I don't want to even think about it. Come on." She said grabbing the torch and running out round the back of the farmhouse and into the field. Sarah stayed with her all the way.

The children ran down to the main road and looked around.

"She's not here."

"Don't you think that I can see that? Look, split up, we can cover more ground that way."

"Oh no, I'm staying with the guilty party…"

"You've got your mobile, haven't you?

"Yes."

"Alright, we'll time ourselves. Ten minutes from now we'll phone and report our positions, yes?"

"Claira, I don't know, I…"

"Look, it's one long road. No cars ever come down here. You go that way, I'll go this ten minutes, that's all."

"Well, okay."

They split up.

Claira headed towards the school grounds and soon found Annette's course work. She looked around.

"Annette? Annette? Are you around here?"

She was now pushed to the floor. She stared straight up at Annette looking down.

"You stupid human, what the hell do you think you were playing at?"

She smiled then stood up and brushed herself down.

"Annette, your alright."

"No thanks to you. What happened Claira? Did your guilt get the better of you?"

"No, I… Dad's going to ground me. I just don't…" She said moving away as her phone started to ring. "Sarah!" She said looking at the readout.

Annette now grabbed it and threw it into the bushes.

"Annette, what are you playing at?"

"Don't tell her where we are, not just yet, I…" She now looked back and walked away.

Claira watched her.

"Annette? Our parents are going to be out here any minute. Maybe Sarah has run in to them already." She said grabbing the phone from the bushes.

Annette carried on walking past the school.

Claira looked back to the main road then slowly followed her in to the field.

"Annette, this isn't the way home. We have to follow the road for a while longer."

"I know, but, while I was out here alone, I noticed something."

Claira stared at her.

"Noticed what?"

They carried on walking.

A large house could now be seen through the trees.

"Hey, this is that new construction that the towns been talking about. I can't see what the commotion was all about. It's just a house…"

Annette looked at her.

"It's not just a house."

"Hurh?"

"It's what my dad was talking about. He said that they'd re-group. Think up different ways of getting to you. I've seen them Claira, it exists."

Claira stared at her as a truck went past them and up to the courtyard.

They watched the driver get out as they recognised that he was an alien. Annette looked at Claira as her face dropped.

"What, what is it?" Claira asked looking on.

"It must be a new regeneration centre but on a big scale."

"Big scale? This is my home town, they can't...."

"We can Claira!" She said looking at her.

Claira now looked at her then pushed her away and ran off.

"Claira, Claira wait!" Annette said following her.

They ran back to the main road just as the police arrived with David and Steve in tow.

"Alright, that's enough!" A policeman said grabbing them.

"Kids!" David said jumping out.

Claira still struggled with the policeman. David now grabbed her.

"Now, that's enough!"

She stared at him then fainted.

Annette looked at her then Steve who was standing with Sarah by his side.

Claira awoke the next morning in her bedroom. She jumped up and looked around. David slowly walked into the room with a glass of water.

"Well, this is an improvement." He said handing her the glass and watching her sip from it.

"What time is it?"

"Just gone ten." He said checking his watch. "I thought that you deserved a lie in." He said then watched her.

She now looked around.

"Annette, where…?"

"Probably still in bed."

"At uncle Steve's?"

"Well, of course. You wanna tell me about last night?"

She nodded violently as she gulped back the water.

"Alright, I'm listening." He said watching her.

She now looked away.

"Well?" He said waiting patiently.

"You might take it the wrong way. Maybe if Annette, no, she'd be all for it…"

"Claira, I might take what the wrong way? You found Annette last night, I thank you for that and I'm sure so does your Uncle, but it still doesn't make up for the fact that you left her alone for over an hour. Do you know that anything could have happened to her?"

"But, what if something had happened to the both of us? Even cousin Sarah?"

He looked at her.

"Go on." He said folding his arms.

"Now it really is too close for comfort. That construction site is full of them. Annette is probably having a field day now with Uncle Steve, I bet."

"The construction site? What about it?"

"They've bought the land, dad. The aliens that Annette's father was talking about. We were there last night and they were moving all the tubes in. We saw, we saw them dad, alien families, like my mum and dad." She said starting to cry.

David held her while trying to understand what she was talking about.

Steve ventured up to the house that afternoon alone. David was in the kitchen talking with the bureau.

"Yeah, alright, yes he's here now, I'll tell him." He said putting the receiver back on the wall.

"Tell me what?" He said lighting up a fag and sitting down on the stool.

David moved round the kitchen to the sink and grabbed the kettle.

"You guessed that was the bureau?"

"At three in the afternoon? Oh yes. So, what does old ferret face want now?"

He turned round and moved to the stove and lit it.

"Your help." He said then turned back facing him.

"In regards to…?"

David moved out of the kitchen making sure that Steve watched him go.

"Oh, I get it. The fifty questions time. Where did I first have my alien encounter, when, what was it like?" He said taking another drag on his fag.

"Now your beginning to sound like Claira."

"It rubs off on you, it's called being a Vincent, or haven't you noticed that yet?"

"Try the phrase being a parent and you might just be closer the mark."

Steve looked at him just as the kettles whistle blew.

"What is this, time out here?" He said jumping up and stubbing out his cigarette.

"Sit down!" He said then ran into the kitchen to take the kettle off the stove.

Steve stared at him.

"Do you want a cup?"

"No! I want to know what the hell is going on or I'm walking out of here…"

David made two cups of tea and handed one to Steve. He now sat down.

"Has Annette talked to you this morning?"

"Not really. Why? What's Annette got to do with this?"

"Last night when Claira was with her… you know that construction site off Mount Pleasant Road…?"

"Hmm." He said finally taking a sip of the liquid inside his cup.

"It's an alien stronghold."

He stopped and looked at him.

"In town? In our town?" He said laughing.

"It's true Uncle Steve." Claira said behind him.

"Claira! I told you to get some rest!" David said moving out to her.

"But, Uncle Steve should know. Annette wasn't going to tell him, she's one of them."

"And you think I'm not, ha, Claira?" Steve said looking on.

"No! Yes! I mean, Uncle Steve, their not like you, your… Their here to, to…" She looked at David for moral support.

He now held her.

"Go back to your room. I'm dealing with this."

"But, but…"

He now kissed her. "Please."

She looked at him, then Steve then back to David and nodded. They watched her go back to her room.

David now moved back to the kitchen.

"Can I come back with you to the cottage? I have to get Annette's side of this."

"If she wants to help you."

"Hopefully with an alien presence there, she will."

They looked at each other.

Annette was looking out of her bedroom window that faced the lane to the farmhouse. She watched the two adults approach the cottage and walk in.

"Kids?" Steve said calling out for them.

Sarah ran into Annette's room.

"That's dad. I think he wants to see us."

"Obviously. He's brought your Uncle David with him."

Sarah looked at her then ran out. Annette slowly followed and moved down the stairs.

Steve and David watched her.

"Annette, darling erm, do you want to come into the living room. Your Uncle and I want to speak to you."

"He's not my Uncle and you're not my father!" Annette said sarcastically.

"Well, if that's your attitude maybe Claira was right and we do have an alien stronghold on our doorstep." David said staring at her.

Annette looked at him.

"Annette? Are you going to answer him?" Steve said watching her.

"Why should I? We're coming for you. My dad warned you. It's already happening, what do I care? You may have silenced him, even me, but you'll never silence our resolve, our resolve to take over this planet." She said then ran back upstairs.

"What? Dad, what's she talking about?" Sarah said moving round to face them.

Steve grabbed Sarah and held her while looking at David.

"Sorry."

"You don't have to be. It's been inbred in her. There's nothing you or I can do to change that."

"Maybe not, but we have to do something about that house."

David looked at him and agreed.

"Would you come with me to the bureau?"

"Why? What's happening there that we can't sort out here?"

David looked up the stairs.

"Look, can we carry on this conversation along the lane, I don't want miss tunnel vision listening."

He looked at him. "Alright, I guess I can understand how you feel. Sarah, you better stay here and try to keep Annette happy."

"Ha! That's easier said than done, daddy…."

"I know, I know, just do your best." He said kissing her then they went out.

Annette watched them head back down the lane. Steve looked back at her watching.

David managed to persuade Steve to go in to town and talk with the bureau about there plans to deal with the aliens.

"Annette said that these are a new strain of aliens, yes?"

"Yes, with a new purpose. They have an inbred manner that at first is dormant, they slip into life's society, as a family, everyday normal human drives and behaviour, but with one goal, to destroy the real humans around them."

"How could that be achieved so quickly?"

"Well, it doesn't have to be done quickly. They have learnt from past experience that the environment would have to be changed for them to live on Earth. They just 'clean' their area and move on, a bit like locusts." David said looking at Ed.

Ed now looked at Steve.

"Very clever."

Steve now looked away.

"Look, I didn't plan this, you know. In case you didn't catch it last time, these aliens are a new strain. They are not like me, they've been chemically altered, they are more desperate and more deadly than you could ever imagine. If you let them get the footing that they want, that they might even get, you may as well…" He stopped and looked at David watching him. "You may as well go up to them waving a white flag and hand them over the keys to the Earth on a silver platter!"

David now turned away.

"I just want to know whether we're taking a gamble with you Steven because we are sending you in there with one of those new strains. Shall we just give up right now?" Ed said looking at him.

"Well, that's up to you." He said looking away.

David looked at Ed.

"I trust him enough to go ahead with it. I think that he can handle Annette." David said getting up and going to the drinks cabernet to pour out a scotch.

Ed watched him.

"The last time Steve handled her was because her damn father died. This is not on the same scale as that and if there is one alien that recognises him…."

Steve jumped up.

"It's your call."

"Yes, it is. We'll contact you on the bureau's decision."

Steve looked at him then David who now put his glass down and went out. Steve followed as they now went to the toilet.

"I can't believe that this all hangs on the damn bureau! We could easily handle this…"

"Didn't you just hear anything he said? My god, you are like a younger version of me. Yes, maybe if I was like you I would be out there now dealing with this all on my own, but the believers might be able to handle this differently. We might even get some back up, isn't that something to think about?"

"Back up? The army is in Iraq in case you hadn't noticed the news lately, bro…!" He said looking at him. "What? You think the bureau might have an army all of there own? Now who's thinking like a child?"

David grabbed him and put him to the wall.

"Go ahead. You've always wanted to do it. Make you feel better, make you feel more like a man, ha?" Steve said fighting for the words mulling around in his head at that stage.

The door now opened and Ed walked in.

"When you two children have quite finished, the bureau has come to a decision." He said then went out.

David now let Steve go and watched him straighten himself up. They now walked back in to the office and sat down watching each other.

"Steve, you have permission to enter the alien stronghold and undermine their operations as much as you can. We will give you any assistance that you need once you have find out any information that you can about their plans. If Annette puts you in any danger, you do realise that we cannot help you."

Steve was still looking at David then looked at Ed.

"I understand, sir."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you to work out a plan on how to get in there. David, I expect you to work with your brother on this one, hopefully where it won't mean knocking your two heads together."

David now looked at him.

They were soon driving home. They did not speak to each other as David now pulled in to the lane.

"You can drop me off here. I'm going to check on the kids."

David pulled over and watched him get out and run into the cottage. He now drove back to the farmhouse and walked in grabbing a bottle of scotch.

Claira was in the living room watching him.

"How did it go with the bureau?"

He looked at her then grabbed a glass.

"Fine." He said then poured out the drink for himself.

She now got up and moved in to the kitchen watching him swallow the brown liquid.

"A-ha." She said now sitting down on the stool.

"Don't you have homework or something?"

"Finished." She said leaning over the worktop still watching him.

He now grabbed the bottle and walked out to the living room.

The phone now rang and Claira quickly picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Claira, hi."

"Sarah, hey, how are you doing?"

David looked at her.

Claira now looked at him.

"A full bottle of scotch, hurh? Dad? No, erm, sober as far as I can see." She said staring at the bottle in his hand.

David carried on drinking.

Claira now finished her conversation with Sarah and walked back to David slumped in his chair. She sat down by his feet and moved in between them.

"Cousin Sarah says that Uncle Steve is getting plastered back at the cottage."

"Is he? Well, what's that got to do with me?"

"Nothing, it's just that, well, so it would seem is my father at the moment and I was wondering if it had anything to with the bureau or that alien stronghold down the road?"

He now stood up.

"Claira, just leave it, will you."

"I can see that it has. What did they decide?

He looked down to Claira at his feet then looked at the scotch bottle and moved back to the kitchen.

"The bureau has given your Uncle permission to enter the stronghold…."

"Great!" Claira said jumping up and following him.

He turned back.

"Not so great when you hear who is going in with him."

Claira waited for him to reply then turned away as she realised whom he meant.

"Annette Powell." She said playing with the patterns in the worktop.

"Yes." He said pouring out another glass.

She grabbed a glass and put it next to his. She looked up to see him staring at her.

"Okay, so you're not that drunk." She said pushing the glass away.

Claira jumped off her stool and moved away.

"She's going to turn Uncle Steve in the minute they walk in there, you do know that, don't you, dad?"

"Oh, I know that child."

"Well, why…? Alright, she's an alien, but she is that new strain dad, Uncle Steve can't take a gamble like that, he'd be mad to even consider it."

"Don't you think that this is what I've been trying to get through to him all morning? He wont have any of it."

"But, he hasn't had time to make any progress with Annette yet. This stronghold has come as a shock to all of us, especially me because…." She looked down.

He put his glass down and went to her.

"I know that it's on our doorstep. But, that's how they get to you. If we don't nip this in the bud now they'll have this town along with our state before long."

"We can't trust Annette."

"No, we can't, but we trust Steve, don't we?" He said looking down.

Claira looked up and nodded.

David now held her.

The next day Claira walked down the lane to Sarah's house and knocked on the door. Annette opened it and stared at her.

"Oh, it's you."

"Obviously."

"Well, what do you want Claira, it's not a school day, is it?"

"No, you know that, Annette…."

Claira followed Annette into the living room and watched Steve walk out holding his head.

"Kids? Oh, hello darling." He said moving to kiss Claira.

"Uncle Steve, how much scotch did you drink last night?" She said smelling his breath.  
A cough now came from the kitchen as Sarah waved an empty bottle in front of her.

Steve focused in on her.

"Hey, now that was half full when I started on it yesterday."

"Half empty, don't you mean, Uncle Steve?"

Steve watched Claira head into the kitchen.

"What are you doing here at this time of the morning anyway, Claira? What's the matter with that excuse for a brother of mine? Has he surfaced yet from his pit?"

Claira looked at him trying to move towards her.

"I didn't hang around to find out. Suffice to say that I didn't let him get drunk as much as you did last night."

"I am not drunk! Just a little…"

"A little hung over this morning, drinking does that to you." She said looking at Sarah who now laughed.

"Hey, are you making fun of an alien that… hey, Claira's right, you do look like death Steve…" Annette said facing him.

"Oh, thank you. Okay, time out here. Right, Sarah, Annette, your rooms now, Claira!"

"Yes, Uncle Steve?" She said running to him.

He stared at her.

David walked into the kitchen that morning and made a light breakfast. He now looked at it sitting on the table then pushed it away and grabbed the morning paper.

The door now opened and Claira walked in.

"Well, where the hell have you been this morning?" He said staring at her as Steve walked in propping up the door.

Claira looked back as David folded up the paper and jumped up grabbing his uneaten breakfast.

"Grub, brilliant!" She said snatching the plate from him and running into the living room leaving David to stare at Steve.

Steve now closed the door behind him.

"You, you erm, got any coffee?"

"Just made."

"Black and loads of it." He said sitting down and held his head.

David watched him and grabbed a cup.

"I don't know whether I should throw this at you. Did Claira go and get you?"

"If she did, it didn't work. I decided to come up here all on my own." He said taking the cup from him "Thanks, bro."

David now sat down again.

"Claira was right, you didn't get as drunk as me last night."

"Well, I guess I wear it better."

He looked at the bottle behind him.

"Done in half a bottle, that's good enough. Next time we don't drink alone."

"If there is a next time."

"Hey, there'll always be a next time."

They looked at one another.

"Are we brothers again?" Steve said holding out his hand.

David stared at it then shook his hands.

"Nothing but."

"Great, now we can get started on that alien stronghold." Claira said now walking in and putting the plate into the sink then turned round to watch them.

David looked at her then Steve.

"Annette."

He looked at him and nodded.

"Hmmm, Annette."

"Have you talked to her, yet?"

"No. But, I don't think it will take her long to realise that what has been planned will most certainly include her."

"I guess that it's best if you talk to her alone, ha?"

"Oh yes. The less interaction from humans the better for Annette."

"Hey dad, we can collect Sarah and go shopping."

"Shopping? Claira, I'm not made of money, you know."

"Have you got a better idea on how to keep a nine and seven year old happy for the whole day?"

"Here, take my wallet. I seem to be made of money at the moment." Steve said handing David his wallet.

Claira stared at it.

"Erm, do you think that's it dad? Why we're having so many problems getting rid of these aliens, because they're made of money?"

David stared at her.

"Hey, what are you implying?" Steve said grabbing her.

"Dad, dad help!"

"No, sorry. I think that you've asked for this alien attack."

David watched Steve playing with Claira.

David collected Sarah and they drove off to the mall.

Steve walked into the cottage to find Annette reading.

"You've already missed them."

"Missed who?"

"Your niece and daughter. David Vincent just collected them. I think that they said something about the mall." She said turning the page to her comic.

"I'm not interested in Claira and Sarah at the moment. I'm here to talk to you, really."

She looked at him.

"Is that so? And pray, what would that be about?"

He sat down next to her.

"That alien stronghold…."

"A-ha."

"The bureau has asked us to deal with it."

"Us? You mean, the Vincent's?"

"I mean, you and me."

"Deal with it in what way? I have no interest in what goes on there. As far as I am concerned Steve, they could take over this town, Claira, David and that brat of a daughter of yours just like that. I'd gladly join them, if it was at all possible."

"Maybe we could join them."

"Hurh?"

"You are the next generation. The parents that are being trained to look after these kids are just normal everyday aliens. I am a normal everyday alien." He said moving forward.

Annette now jumped up.

"No!"

"Why not? Annette, look at the possibilities that it opens up. We could find out everything for the next five years."

"Yeah, before destroying them!"

"Well, of course. You don't want them on our doorstep, do you?"

Annette stared at him.

"I want the humans to die. My father died because…."

"Because of an error in his alien lung capacity and a poor landing…"

Annette now went for him.

Steve pushed her away.

"That is enough Annette!"

"I will never help you. I will never help the bureau!"

He looked away.

"Your not one bit interested in the next stage of our attack?"

She stared at him.

"You know that I wait with baited breath, but we, we severed our ties with our kind, Steve. I don't know what I can do to…"

"Yes you do."

She looked down and nodded then noticed the ring on her finger and took it off.

"Being, the next generation, I, I don't need this as much as you." She said closing her hand fully then flexing her hand in front of him.

"Maybe you don't need the ring as much, but you need to survive here on Earth and I can help you do that child, if you'd let me. I know that we can work together Annette, as a family."

He held out his hand as Annette now took it and squeezed it. Steve now pulled her into him and held her.

He looked down at her.

"I think we're ready."

She looked up at him watching his every move.

David returned with the children that evening and moved into Steve's kitchen. Steve appeared first moving out cautiously to them.

"Oh hi… erm, how did it go?"

"Alright, I think."

"You think?"

"Look, I can't be one hundred percent here, bro…"

"Of course not, I mean your dealing with an alien here, aren't you?" Claira now said looking at him.

"Hey, Claira, when I ask for your criticism then you can go to the head of the class, in this instance, but out, ha?"

Claira stared at him.

"Easy, okay." David said stepping in. "Carry on, Steve."

"I'm pretty sure that I can handle her. She's young, she still needs someone to look up to and as I am an alien, I hope that it will be me."

"Or she might just run down the main hallway as you arrive and the whole area will go just a nice shade of red, with your body going…"

"I'm touched by your concern."

"Claira, if you can't keep this civil then you can go home right now."

"Annette can not be trusted, period!"

"Thanks a lot, fake cousin!" Annette said crossing her arms as she appeared from behind Steve.

"Hey, what's she mean by fake cousin?" Sarah asked looking on.

Claira stared at Annette then dodged past the adults and out of the cottage.

"Claira!" David said after her.

"Serious problem!" Annette said touching her head as her little finger now showed.

David grabbed her hand and made her look at it.

"You were saying."

Annette now let go of him and moved in to Steve's side.

David looked at her then at Steve.

"She must have gone up to the farmhouse."  
"Don't bet on it."

"I'll get the car."

"No! Don't even think it. Just leave her to me."

"Hey, whatever you say, bro."

David now went out and jumped into his car as he drove along the lane and onto the main road into town.

Claira made it to town and looked around the area leading to the construction site where the alien house was taking shape.

David pulled off the road as he noticed her. He jumped out and quickly ran after her. Claira made it to the entrance as he grabbed her and pushed her into the bushes.

"What do you think your doing out here? Is this going to prove anything?"

"To me, yes."

"If you go in there now, say if you win in getting them to give up this place, what would it have accomplished?"

"The fact that I got them away from our home. That they will never win."

"You wont do any good, Claira, believe me. Steve has a way that can get us the information we need and destroy them from the heart of their operations. You go in there now with your holy than though attitude and you wont be walking out again at the end. Do you want that?"

She looked at him then pulled away as she punched the air.

David now grabbed her and pulled her to the car. He got in and drove home.

The next morning David sat in his car around the corner to the entrance as he watched the truck pull up to the gates.

"Kids, there's the truck."

"Dad?" Sarah said sitting forward from the back seat.

"He's probably in the back with Annette."

Claira now looked at the truck as it was accepted in.

"Alright, now it's up to Steve." He said starting up his car and pulling away.

Claira stared at the truck as he drove back down the main road out of town.

The truck now pulled up in front of the main entrance and the owner moved around the it to the back and opened it up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your new home for the twenty first centuary. If you would like to follow me, I will get you all checked in and you can head straight to your rooms to prepare."

Steve jumped out and helped Annette to the ground.

"Prepare for what?" Steve asked looking at him.

The man looked at him.

"Prepare for your new life here on Earth."

Steve watched him go in then slowly followed.

"Seems perfectly natural to me. I'd be glad to have a room all to myself." Annette said following.

Steve looked down.

They were soon taken to their rooms and Steve looked around.

"It's styled into a hotel appearance. En suite, double bed."

Annette now walked in.

"Take a look at the brochure… crèche, children's play area. Bags me for that!"

"Yeah, crèche sound like your age group."

Annette looked up from the brochure.

"No silly, the play area, look at this. Now this is what we really came here for."

Steve looked at her.

"Fun? You call living on Earth fun?"

"No, well, yeah, I guess."

"Have you taken a look who's out there lately Annette? The competition? And all your interested in is a damn play area."

Annette now got scared and ran off to her room.

Steve moved to the window and looked out to watch the truck pulling away and the owner now looking up to watch him. Steve quickly moved away.

Steve decided to take a look around and heard the owner talking to a few other alien guests.

"The whole estate is modelled on a typical American hotel establishment. We have found that when we land and we disperse into our surroundings that we usually end up in establishments like this one. We believe that now we have off spring that eventually, after slipping into the everyday mundane human existence that is around us, we would then go out and find suitable buildings for us to survive in on a more permanent basis. In this world we live to keep our children happy and mould them into their new society so that eventually they will take over from us and be another step closer to taking over this planet."

Steve watched him then turned away.

"Excuse me, Mr Norton…" The owner said moving up to him.

Steve turned back as he reached him.

"Erm, we have a slight problem with your identity papers, I hope that you wouldn't mind,"

"Wouldn't mind, what?"

The owner led him to an office.

Steve watched him move round the table and grab a file.

"I just wanted to know what ship you and your daughter, Annette, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"You see, we have no documents on you. I know that lately we've had to deal with the believers in this area so, some of the landings have been kept quiet, but I just have nothing on you."

Steve reached into his jacket pocket.

"I lazored these off last night. Will these do?" He said handing him an envelope.

The owner quickly took the papers out and read them.

"Oh yes, excellent copies. We will have no trouble getting passports and birth certificates for the two of you."

"Thank you." He said getting up.

"When did you land here, Mr Norton, erm, Steve?"

He faced him.

"A lifetime ago." He said trying to raise a laugh.

"Excuse me?"

"Annette, she's one of our new generation… I landed here three nights ago when my daughter was still a seed. To me, I have been here my daughters lifetime."

The owner watched him leave then grabbed the phone beside him.

Steve looked around the hotel again and found the regeneration tubes then a computer room behind it. He moved in to it and pressed a few buttons.

"Okay, lets see what we've got."

A list of objectives was now displayed. He quickly downloaded them onto David's computer back at the farmhouse.

"That's Steve!" David said jumping up.

"He doesn't waste time." Claira said following.

David watched the screen then grabbed the phone.

"Claira, take a copy of this. I'm calling the bureau."

Claira pressed the print button as the printer whizzed in to life.

Steve made sure the download was complete then moved back out to the main area. Annette had already made friends with the other new generation kids and ran down the corridor towards him.

"Fascinating, aren't they? They have captured the youth of today so well, don't you think?" The owner said then followed them down.

Steve stared at them then moved back to his room.

Late that evening another truck pulled in with some heavy lifting gear. Steve watched from his window as the other aliens led a machine in through the main door.

"What's going on?" Annette said moving in close to him.

He spun round and grabbed her.

"What the… Annette, you should be in bed."

"There are all noises around here. Everything's so new. What is that thing?"

"I'm not sure yet. I haven't seen anything like it before." He said then realised the truck was now gone. "Come on, let's get you to bed." Steve said leading her through to her room.

That night Steve ventured down to the computer room again and checked on the new piece of hardware. Steve noticed some more spores ready for incubation but these looked very different.

The light now went on in the outer room. Steve tried to find a back exit but he was stuck in the room. He hid behind the panel as the owner walked in with another alien.

"We have to get these spores activated as soon as possible. I want them ready to leave with the next shipment."

"These are the new design spores with their assignments already planted inside their subconscious, yes?"

"Right. With the in bred children that we already have here, these children will not need alien parents to guide them through childhood and beyond. They could easily be adopted by unknowing humans and only at a certain time will their true charactor and beliefs finally take over and they will carry on our work."

"Excellent. I want you to expedite matters."

"At once sir." The owner said pressing the controls on the consul.

Steve now looked at the spores beginning to grow.

Once everything had quietened down Steve headed back to his room and grabbed his mobile phone and called David.

An alarm now sounded in the owner's office.

"Someone is using an illegal cell phone. I want all rooms to tie in, now."

"David, you have to listen to me. You have to get word to the bureau,"

"Why? What's going on?"

Just then the alarms went off. Annette came running in.

"What's happening? Hey, who are you calling?"

"I think they've spotted my cell phone transmissions. David, there is another generation being planned. Self in bred awareness. David, these kids don't need aliens to help them survive on Earth. They can live with humans!"

Annette now grabbed the phone from Steve just as the owner burst through the door.

"Dad, how do you get this stupid things to work? I can't get a proper signal… oh, erm, hi."

"Can I have that please Miss Norton?"

"Hurh, who's? Oh, erm, me. You want my cell phone, erm, alright."

The owner looked at the phone.

"These are not allowed on the premises. Haven't your read your handbook?"

"No. Erm, we've been busy." Steve said now stepping forward.

The owner looked at him.

"We have very sensitive equipment within this building. These cell phones could interfere with that equipment."

"Excuse me, but I didn't see the sign hospital above the door when we arrived yesterday." Steve said looking at him.

"What are you doing with a cell phone here? They are not issued until you are ready to leave the stronghold."

"Annette picked it up while we were waiting for the truck. Can we have it back please? I'll make sure that she doesn't use it again."

"No…! I will keep this until you leave. You will all be issued with your own phones when it is necessary for you to have them."

"Hey, but that's mine…" Annette said trying to grab it from him.

Steve now pulled her back.

"We better do as they say darling. We have a lot to learn here, yet."

Annette watched him take the phone and walk out.

"What the hell is going on around here?" She said turning back to look at Steve.

"More than originally thought. I just hope that my brother understands." He said moving to the window.

"He's going to check the phone. It has David's number on it."

He looked at her.

"I know. It wont take them long now to realise something is going on."

"Well, what are you planning to do? Why on earth did you call David for?"

"Those new spores. Their self in bred aliens. They don't need to be brought up on Earth by other aliens… humans could easily adopt them without them knowing of their secret agenda…." He said turning away in some kind of disgust.

Annette stared at him.

"Wow, having actual human parents. Do you know dad, that's a dream come true. I wish…"

"No you don't, no-one could ever possible wish for something like that. I have to do something about it."

"What? No!"

"I have to. With those spores on earth, Annette, they could be ready within the week. They could be all over the country by the spring. Do you think that we could cope on that level?"

"Who wants to cope? It's what we've been waiting for." Annette said as her eyes lit up.

"Oh, please!" He said pushing her back into her bedroom.

David went to the bureau with the news that Steve had given him.

"We have no way of getting any message to your brother?

"No! He said that he might have been found out when the phone went dead."

"Well, do we expect the worst and raid the place tonight or do we sit tight and pray that Steve can get a message out to us by the morning." Ed said looking at him.

"It's obvious that now the phone has been discovered that they'll watch him like a hawk from now on. We have to give him the chance to deal with the spores before they leave the site."

Ed looked at his planner.

"Alright, we'll wait for a signal. But, if nothing is heard from your brother by noon tomorrow the place will be raided and the bureau will take no prisoners."

David looked at him and slowly nodded.

The next day Steve and Annette went down for breakfast and noticed the alien activity around.

"Someone has certainly caused a stir." Annette said looking around.

"That someone might be me. Just sit down darling and eat your breakfast."

As they ate their breakfast a few men walked up to the owner and pulled him away.

"I wonder what that's about."

Annette looked at him.

"I think that the sooner we get out of here the better."

"Now who's getting scared?"  
"Well, it's that home away from home feeling. When your not home, you miss it but, this place…"

"Home is just down the road, darling."

"Yeah, but I can't exactly walk out of here and go home, can I?"

Steve looked at her.

"I don't know. At this moment in time I wouldn't mind trying."

"But the spores, what?"

"Shoosh!"

The owner now walked back in.

After breakfast Steve, with Annette in tow decided to walk past the regeneration room that housed the computer room and the spore's chamber. The area was now guarded so they walked straight past.

"Well that's great, say if I want to regenerate sometime today. Do I have to ask their permission now?" Annette said loudly down the corridor.

"Of course not Miss Norton, you just let the front desk know where you are going and my men would gladly let you in." The owner said moving up behind them.

"Great." She said quietly then looked down.

"This area is restricted though, so if you wouldn't mind…"

"Oh erm, not at all." Steve said pushing Annette on.

They carried on walking to the play area.

"You are seriously not trusted anymore, dad."

"Thank you." He said looking back. "Not trusted by my own people. I must be human after all."

"Hurh?"

"I'm getting like my brother, sad thought, I know but, Annette, I have to get back into that spores room and stop the cycle."

"Why? Do you know what it would be like to have perfect aliens with human parents? Now, Claira had it reversed, hey even Sarah has it, a well, an alien for a father, not perfect, but hey, who's complaining?"

Steve stared at her.

"And you're the next generation?" He said shaking his head.

"Hey, I have to be taught, conditioned for this planet. Those spores do not, their perfect, in every detail. A dream come true, heaven sent. Imagine that."

"I am." He said looking back.

Steve and Annette walked back some hours later to see a set of cases being moved out.

"What's this, failed off spring?" Steve said raising a smile.

"No, a new incubation centre has been opened in the area. We are sending this over as a test sample." The owner said looking on.

"Test sample? There not ready yet, then?"

"No, but they soon will be."

Steve watched the owner leave.

They went back to their room and Steve went to the window and watched the van pull away.

"While the cats away…"

"Hurh?"

"Hey Annette, fancy a regeneration?"

"Well, I guess my batteries are a little flat, yeah."

They moved down to the main desk.

"We're just going for a regeneration."

"Okay Mr Norton." The receptionist said pressing the button.

They walked in to the room. Annette got ready to enter a tube.

"You know what, I might go for the deluxe regeneration today, darling…"

"The what?"

Steve moved towards the computer room.

"I'm sorry Mr Norton but that area is out of bounds."

"But, I want to up the radiation in the tube. It gives a better energy ratio if you put the computer into high gear."

"I think that my men can work that out for you."

"Erm, yes, alright."

Steve moved back to the tube.

"What's going on? What are you talking about, deluxe…?"

"When they open the tube close your eyes and keep your head down."

"What?"

"Do as I say."

"Alright."

Steve moved to the tube as it opened. The radiation shot out and temporarily blinded the other aliens.

Steve now grabbed one of them and took his gun. He now shot at them and watched them turn red.

Annette now looked up.

"What, what are you doing? You killed them."

"Stay here and guard the room. I've got to get in there." Steve said handing her the gun and running into the spore's chamber.

Annette looked at the outline of the aliens that Steve had just killed. She now started to move into the chamber and towards Steve trying to get to the spores.

"Stay where you are, Mr Vincent…"

He looked back.

"Annette, stop playing around and keep guard, will you?"

"You killed those aliens."

"Yeah, and if we would have gone into those radiation tubes they would have killed us too."

"You don't know that. They are part of us."

He looked at her.

"Haven't you felt it yet? Annette, your not one of them, you maybe the new generation, but you are not one of them. You're a Vincent, just like me."

Annette now pointed the gun at him.

"I am here to destroy all humans. I have been made that way."

"You're an alien, that can still make a choice. Annette, the choice you have to make is whether you want to live or die. I chose to live, what do you want?"

She still continued to point the gun at him.

"You really want to live with them. I've shown you the new world we can live in darling. As a family."

"Step away from the chamber."

"Annette, listen to me…"

"Now, dad!"

She now opened fire as Steve dived for cover.

The whole place now went up and Steve dragged Annette out of the room.

"The place is going to blow, come on."

"What have I done?"

"You chose to live, what else could you have done. Now, stop feeling sorry for yourself, it doesn't last long anyway and come on."

They ran out of the building to be met by the owner pointing a gun at them.

"That's far enough Mr Vincent…"

"It's too late. The spores are all dead."

"Not all of them. Our new site has dozens now taking shape ready to fight another day. You could never destroy us all." The owner now turned the gun on himself and disappeared in a flame of red.

"Lets get out of here." He said running out of the grounds to be met by David driving towards them.

The place now exploded.

"Mission accomplished?" David said looking on.

"You could say so, yes. All thanks to my daughter, here."

David looked at him.

"Seriously. She destroyed the spores and her dream, but I've given her a new dream." He said kissing her.

Annette hugged him as everyone looked on.

"You could say that it was dad who planted the seed."

THE END.


	6. Chapter 6

**THE INVADERS**

**RUNNING SCARED**

Six months had passed since Annette had moved in with Steve and Sarah Vincent and accepted her new role in the family. But, one thing still nagged in her and seemingly so in Steve, too. The third generation spores that they had witnessed being transported out of their Utah hometown to a new site of which was still unknown to them at that stage.

Steve went to the bureau one crisp morning in January, to talk with Edgar Scoville about the spores and their possible where-abouts.

"Haven't you had a response from your teams in any part of this country?" Steve said staring at him.

Ed looked up from the computer that was stuck in the bureaus' website at that point. "Nothing. I've even gone back to scanning newspapers. Maybe you should do the same." He said handing him the latest batch of hutch lining material.

"I have and, for that matter so has my brother." He said pushing the papers aside. "He can't understand it either." He said then sat down sighing. "I don't know… maybe what their doing is right for them at the moment…"

Ed looked at him.

"Right for 'them'?"

"Yeah… the third generation, if there is such a thing."

"Go on."

"Well, I've been thinking for a while now that, alright, let me run this by you for a second, ha? I saw those spores being shipped out and I know that they were different from say, Annette, but we're talking another generation here in only a short period of time. Now, if that manager was to be believed and these are a generation that don't need to be brought up by other aliens, would you take this much time to get them into society without even a word being uttered from either them or us?"

Ed stood up.

"You're actually counting yourself as one of 'us' here, ha?"

"Of course. Ed, I saw those spores, don't be fooled by them."

"Maybe it's not them who is fooling us." He said staring at him.

Steve looked at him.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing here. Look Ed, we've had our differences in the past, but over these spores, we are one, yes?"

"When you bleed you tell me then that we are one…"

Steve watched him then stood up and went out.

He walked through the offices and moved through the local typing pool.

"Steven Vincent, what brings you down here?" A female voice said behind him.

He spun round and smiled.

"Ellen." He said then moved up to her and kissed her.

"Hmm, watch yourself Mr Vincent, that might be catching."

"What, one kiss?"

"No, my cold. I've had this stinker for weeks now and I can't shake it."

"What are you doing around here then?" He said stepping back.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I've had it for weeks. If I stay at home from the common cold for over a week I lose my entitlement…"

"Your entitlement? You've got a disease, take the rest of the year off."

"If you were my boss I'd smother you in kisses, but as your not…" Ellen now walked away.

Steve watched her go then left the office and the building and drove home.

David was waiting for him.

"It's about time…. How did your chat with Ed go?"

"It didn't. He was more interested in the fact that I don't bleed than he was interested in this new generation."

"That you don't bleed? Well, what's that got to do with…"

"I don't know and quite frankly bro, I don't care. This whole world has gone nuts, if you ask me. I ran in to Ellen McCormick from the typing pool while on my way out and she is working through a heavy cold. If that was me, I'd, well…"

David looked at him.

"Wait a minute, the typing pool? That's not on your way out. Ellen McCormick? Steve your not…"

"Well certainly not at the moment I'm not… I can't believe I kissed her with the cold she's got."

"A-ha." David said watching him.

"There is nothing going on between us."

"No, but you'd like something to be."

Steve stared at him.

"Look bro, I'm home now. Thank you for taking care of my kids while I was away. I can now take over, so if you don't mind…"

"I can take the hint. I just hope Ellen can." David said then left.

Steve watched him walk away and shook his head.

The next day Steve drove the children to school as a cold wind blew off the Utah hills.

"Hey, do you mind closing that window? I'm getting a chill right down the back of my neck!" Steve said adjusting his seating position.

"Sorry Uncle Steve. I didn't know you felt the cold." Claira said pressing the window button as the cold was shut away.

Steve looked back to her then touched his neck and rubbed it.

"Next minute he'll be complaining of a cold." Annette said now looking at the rear-view mirror as he looked at her.

He pulled over and watched them bowl out.

"Alright, back here by four, okay."

"Okay." Sarah said as Steve kissed them.

"Hey, I'm not kissing him, he's got a cold." Annette said moving back.

"Don't be stupid Annette, aliens can't catch colds." Claira said looking at her.

Annette looked at her.

"No, I can't catch a cold. He's not my generation. He's different." She said pointing.

"Now that's enough!"

"Come on Claira, Sarah… quick, before he gives it to you two." Annette said pulling them away from his car.

Steve watched them run in then he drove off back to the cottage and parked up. He reached the door and then stopped as he sneezed. He was so taken aback by this one action that he fell in to the door and straight to the floor.

He soon got up and moved into the kitchen and carried on like normal.

Later that day he noticed that it was getting cold in the cottage and he started to put the temperature on the central heating up a few degrees.

When the children walked in that evening the place was totally unbearable.

"What's been going on around here, dad?"

"What do you mean?"

"You could cook eggs at this temperature." Sarah said going to the thermostat on the wall.

"Hey, leave that gauge alone. It's just right in here for once."

"Just right? Look at the gauge, hey that's nearly one hundred degrees Fahrenheit!"

"See Sarah, I told you that he was catching a cold. There's your proof." Annette said looking at him.

Sarah went to him and touched his forehead.

"Yeah dad, Annette might be right. You do feel hot."

Steve pushed her hand away.

"I haven't got a cold. That's a human failing, I am not human."

"No, but you've changed in such a way that even something as simple as a human cold can do something to you. Maybe something more than what it does to the average human being." Annette said looking at him.

Steve looked at her and tried to laugh it off.

"Maybe you should go to the doctors, daddy."

"The doctors? Have you see any alien doctors in the phone book lately, Sarah?"

"You could phone Uncle David, he might be able to help you."

"I am perfectly fine. I have not got a cold because I cannot catch a cold." He said turning away and then sneezing.

"Want to bet?" Annette said looking at him.

Steve looked at her.

The next day Steve was awoke by Annette and Sarah running around the cottage. He sat up and realised that his nose was completely blocked and his throat was killing him. He could hardly get himself out of bed as Sarah and Annette run in and stared at him.

"Well, look at you." Annette said folding her arms.

"Don't say it."

"Say what?"

"I told you so." He said holding his head.

"Well, you know I did. What does it feel like?"

"What?"

"To have a human cold?"

He looked at her.

"I think we better get out of here Sarah. This looks set for the rest of the winter."

Steve tried to follow them out but he was so achy he couldn't even get past his own bedroom door before he turned round and went back in and closed the door behind him.

"Well, I'd have to see it to believe it." David said walking in to his bedroom some hours later.

He focused in on him.

"David?"  
"Yeah. Don't tell me it's got so bad that you can even recognise your own brother now?"

"It's getting that way."  
"How can you catch a cold?"

"Cold? Who says it's a cold? This is worse than death for me."

"Strange, I don't see the room glowing red." He said trying to raise a laugh.

Steve stared at him.

David realised he was being serious and moved closer.

"Steven, it's just a cold. You've never had one before, take some time out to enjoy it. It will be an experience for you."

"But, don't you get it yet. How can I have a cold? We don't get colds. I am not a human, David as I am sure you know."

"Maybe it has something to do with Annette and her new generation. We'll get to the bottom of it."

"Yeah, with the death of an alien."

David stared at him then left.

Steve stayed in his bed for the rest of the day as the cold took hold of him in a way that no one on Earth would imagine a cold to.

David finally managed to take him to the bureau the next day where they placed him in an isolation room as tests were carried out on him.

Ed walked in to the outer room and moved to stand next to David as they watched the doctors testing Steve.

"David how is he?"

"Not good. The cold is affecting him in a way that no one could ever have measured. Well, certainly not by human terms, at least. It has got to have something to do with the way that Steven has changed to be so accepted by us, by me, it may even be genetic, if he was my own brother, of course."

"But, he's not, so you cannot look towards that for an answer."

"He's going to die from this if we don't find something to help him now. His whole internal system is shutting down and I can't do anything to save him."

Ed stared at David looking on.

"I wish that there was something we could do for him David, I'm, I'm truly sorry."

David looked at him then Steve lying on the bed so helplessly.

A curtain was put around Steve and David slowly entered the room.

"What's this? They finally accepting family now? I must be on the way out." He said turning away.

"They thought that as it's just a cold to us it wouldn't really make that much of a difference."

"Well, how considerate of them. Just a cold to you, life or death to me, right?" He said staring at him.

"Would you put your narcissism to one side for a moment…."

"Why should I? Who's flat out on the bed here, you?"

"Don't you think that we're doing all we can? Ed is using the bureau to put an alert out so that hopefully someone from your side will read it and come to our assistance."

"You honestly think that they'd help you after what I've done to them? Their probably handing out the cigars back home right now. One less traitor to deal with." Steve said looking away.

"I'm going to help you brother, I'm not going to watch you die from this."

"Well, it's not like I'm the first, ha? I can see it now, test case, Steven Vincent, twenty three, alien!"

David stared at him.

The doctor now came in.

"What more tests?" He said looking past him.

"The more tests you have Mr Vincent the closer we can get to a cure." The doctor said checking the chart.

"A cure for the common cold, how about that bro? My name up in lights, Steve Vincent gave his alien life away to cure humans of the common cold. Don't forget to bury me with Claira's alien parents, right!" He said staring at him.

David now shook his head and moved away.

"I'll see you later."

"If you don't I'll leave a trace of ashes where my body was, okay?"

David now went out.

The children were outside and waiting for some kind of an answer from David now approaching them. They moved around him.

"What's going on, dad?" Claira asked watching him.

David touched her then looked at Annette and Sarah.

"He's at his eleventh hour darling."

Claira looked back.

"You mean, you mean nothing can be done for him?" Sarah asked staring at David.

David just looked at her.

"It's just a cold…." Claira said moving into his side.

"He's just an alien!" Annette said looking on.

David now looked at her.

As expected, no one came forward to the pleas put out on the bureaus' website and Steve steadily got worse.

David met Ed in his office for a crisis meeting.

"I just received the doctors last report via email, of all things."

"Are they worried that the computer might catch this virus now?" David said trying to raise a laugh out of the very serious situation.

"Something like that, yeah." Ed said using the mouse on his desk to scroll down all the information listed. "We've had no response from out friends around the country. I have someone working on something in London, one in France, but still nothing definite."

"Does it say in there how long they give Steve to live?"

Ed looked up from his computer.

"Sorry, no."

David stared at him.

"All that information and he doesn't give my brother a time slot? Look, who's bull shitting who here, Ed?"

Ed looked at the screen and sighed as he sat back.

"All he says is that if these two contacts don't come through with anything by this evening he asks that Steve try to get his affairs in order before the end of the week."

David looked away.

"I'd like you tell him."

He nodded and slowly left.

Steve looked at the respirator that was connected to the oxygen mask around his face watching it slowly go up and down. He then heard a noise and looked round to see his brother standing by the door watching him.

"Is that how far you have to stand away from me now?"

"I thought that you were asleep." He said moving up to him.

"Asleep? Good god, no. If I sleep I'll never wake up again, I know that for sure."

David looked back.

"I, I erm, the children, they want to see you."

"No!"

"Steven…."

"I said no David! What part of that don't you understand?"

"You! That's what part I don't understand. They are your family, like me."

Steve looked away.

"Well, you might as well know, the doctor has asked me to get your affairs in order by tomorrow because no-one has come forward to help you."

"Figures. No one loves an alien. All we cause is misery and heartache in the end."

"You're the real life and soul of the party, aren't you?"

"What do you expect from me? Hey bro, don't worry about me. You can go out tomorrow, find another alien to take over from me. You could easily find another one brother, to love those kids!"

David stepped forward.

"Now you want to hit me while I'm down, that's just great. Go grab that scalpel bruv; you'd be doing us all a favour. Get me out of this miserable existence for a life!" Steve said taking off the mask and tried to hand it to him. He now started to cough so he put it back on again.

"That wasn't even two seconds that time." David said watching him

Steve looked away.

David now went out.

"David!" Steve said trying to call him back but it was too late. He looked back to the respirator and wiped a tear from his eye.

David returned to the farmhouse that evening and grabbed the bottle of whiskey as Claira ran out from her bedroom with Annette and Sarah in tow.

"Dad! Where have you been? We've been trying to reach you. Your mobile has been off all day."

"I didn't feel like talking to anyone today. I've just come back from seeing my brother." He said knocking back the shot of whiskey.

"Show him Claira, show Uncle David." Sarah said pushing her forward.

"Will you give me a chance, cus…."

"Show me what?"

Claira went up to him and handed him a slip of paper.

"That contact in London came through. There is an alien doctor over there who is prepared to fly over here and treat Uncle Steve."

David focused in on his child's' handwriting then grabbed it and moved to the phone.

"We've got to call Ed, get this guy out here."

"It was Ed that I took the call from. A doctor Daniel Wood will be at Manti Ephraim airport by seven in the morning. Door to door service, how good is that?"

David looked at her then grabbed her and kissed her. He looked at the other two children and grabbed them for a hug.

The next morning David drove out to the local airport with the children in the back and waited in arrivals for any sign of an alien. He now noticed one and slowly moved up to him.

"Excuse me, are you by any chance Dr. Daniel Wood?"

"Yes, are you Mr Vincent?"

"David Vincent, could I see some kind of I.D.? I just need to be certain."

"Oh, of course…"

David watched him fumberling for his wallet and take out a card. The doctor made sure that he could see his finger as held up the card to his face.

"I hope that this satisfies your needs."

David stared at his finger for a second then remembered where he was.

"Yes, yes it does. My car is waiting. I can drive you straight over to the bureau where my brother is."

"Thank you." He said putting his card back and following David out of the airport and into the car and on his way to the bureau.

"Have you dealt with this problem before?"

"To be quite honest with you, Steve O'Brien is the first test subject."

David stared at him then the children looking on.

"Test subject?"

"Yes… Certain members were selected to hold dormant genetic codes that once prevailed upon would render the subject to twice, sometimes triple the effect that it would have caused upon a human subject. With Steve O'Brien's case it was the simple most commonest human cold."

"His name is Steve Vincent, in case you need reminding." Claira said moving forward from the back seat.

"I don't need reminding Miss Vincent. I am dealing with the alien inside him, not the human side that you believe is in there." He said looking back.

David pulled up outside the bureau and made sure the children were all right before leading him into the room where Steve was. Ed Scoville was waiting for him.

"He's been asking for you."

"This is the doctor that can help him."

"Doctor…." Ed said sharply.

He looked at him for a second then moved to the screen and stared at Steve through the glass. David moved up to him.

"Can you help him?"

"I can't exactly make a diagnosis through a three inch glass panel, now can I?"

David stared at him then opened the door and they walked in.

Steve now watched them walk in and noticed that the doctor was an alien.

"Ed told me you found someone to help."

"That they did Mr O'Brien. I would like to be left alone with my patient, thank you."

"Out of the question. You could do anything to him and he'd die just like that!" He said clicking his fingers.

"And so would I too, Mr Vincent. I'm here to cure my patient not destroy him."

David looked at him then Steve.

"Steve, it's your call."

"I trust him. I'll be fine."

David touched Steve then looked at the doctor as he left.

"Right then, lets give you a proper examination." He said grabbing a device from his pocket.

Steve grabbed his hand, which made the doctor look at him.

"I trust my brother more than you doc. If I feel any changes in me you'll be the one not walking out of here."

"In all fairness Mr O'Brien, haven't you already felt something change in you?" He said looking back at David staring into the goldfish bowl of life.

Steve allowed him to carry on with the examination.

The doctor soon left him and went outside to find David and Ed waiting for him. They watched a nurse bring in some bottles of blood and start to store them away.

David now turned to watch the doctor put the device back in to his pocket.

"Hey, what is that?"

"It's a genetic analyser. It reads the codes set out in the alien body under the human shell. His body characteristics have been completely rewritten due to the cold that has affected his true body and the realisation that, that he is more human than any alien has ever imagined up to now."

"Meaning that he's going to die unless he can somehow become more alien again?" David said staring at him.

"You cannot change an aliens code more than you could change a humans. We are all born unto someone Mr Vincent and those codes whether human or alien dictated cannot be changed, altered or tampered with. Steve Vincent is going to die and it's all thanks to fact that the alien inside him was not prepared for the human cold like all aliens have been made to accept."

The doctor walked away.

David moved to the glass and stared at him. He now turned to look at the bottles of blood in the fridge. He looked down and mumbled.

"More human than any alien has ever imagined."

The doctor looked back.

"Excuse me?"

He looked at him.

"How human is he?"

"My analyser hardly registered him at first."

"A blood transfusion…" He said looking at the doctor.

The doctor looked at him then the bottles of blood then back to David.

"You want to give an alien your blood?"

"You said that the alien inside him was hardly recognisable now. Maybe the shell can be cohered to support the alien enough to fight the virus. A human genetic code could fight the cold for him."

"If the alien accepts your genetic code and your blood to that matter. If it doesn't it could kill him."

"He's dead anyway we go, isn't he?" David said looking at the doctor.

The doctor looked at him then nodded.

"I'll set up an I.V."

"I'll go break the news." David said going in to the room.

The doctor went to the cabernet.

David now moved in to the room.

"What have you two been talking about in there? My ultimate death no doubt." He said starting to cough again.

"How about your ultimate life. Would that sound better?"

Steve stared at him.

Within the hour David was lying in a bed next to him watching the bottle slowly fill with his blood.

"I think that we're ready to start."

"Wait a minute, what blood group are you? I mean, I want to know what I'm getting here."

"Listen to him." David said laughing.

"For your information Mr Vincent your brothers blood group is A positive which means that if you are not compatible we do have other stocks on supply."

Steve watched him place the needle in his arm and then the blood enter his arm.

"Just try to relax." The doctor said checking the machine.

"Relax, right?" He said now looking at the machine doing its work.

Within a few hours the cycle was complete and David sat up.

"I wouldn't try standing up yet Mr Vincent, the effects might be some what un-nerving for you."

"I have given blood before, doctor."

"Not to an alien you haven't."

David looked at him. He now looked at Steve.

"How is he?"

"How, we wont know for a while, yet. I suggest you try to get some sleep like your brother is here."

"Well, when will you know if the operation has been a success?"

"The common cold takes at least three days to work into the human system and from a week to a month before it fully leaves the system. If we don't see some kind of an improvement by say thirty six to forty eight hours…"

"Two days…?"

"Your brother is basically human now, Mr Vincent. Everything in moderation." The doctor said then left the room.

David looked back at his brother sleeping silently.

The doctor moved through the main building of the bureau totally un-noticed by everyone that worked there.

David finally felt better and moved in to the outer room where Ed was now walking in.

"Well, how do you feel?"

"Better than I did half hour ago."

"That's good to hear. The children are still in my office, in case you have forgotten, if you wouldn't mind going up to them and getting them out of there I would be truly grateful. I just can't visualise it being a play den somehow."

David laughed and looked around.

"Wait a minute. Where's the doctor?"

"I thought he was still here."

"No, he left while I was still with Steve."  
The alarm was raised and the security now went rushing around everywhere.

The children heard the commotion and went outside to see the security running around.

"What's going on, Claira?" Sarah asked watching the men.

"I don't know. Come on, we better go down to the private ward Uncle Steve is in."

"But Ed told us to wait for your father up here."

Claira looked back.

"You want to find out what's going on, don't you? How can we do that shut away in an office?"

Annette now pushed Claira aside.

"Bags me gets to dad first."

"Hey…" Claira said running down the corridor after her.

They ran down the stairs to the basement and walked straight in on the alien doctor who was making good use of a computer in the outer office to Steve's room.

"What, what are you doing?" Claira said moving forward.

He moved the screen away.

"Case history. I'm just making a medical journal on Steve O'Brien…."

"Vincent!" Sarah said now moving forward.

Claira now stopped her.

"Easy cus, I don't think…."

He looked at her.

"You don't think what, Miss Vincent?" He said reaching into his pocket and taking out one of the aliens devices.

Before he could use it on her Annette realised what the other alien was planning to do and grabbed Claira and Sarah.

"Sorry cus, sis, forgive me!" She said pushing them down and grabbing his device.

The doctor now grabbed Annette as the security arrived with David and Ed closely behind.

Claira and Sarah managed to stand up and watched him holding Annette.

"Case history? You'll be history in a minute…." Claira said starting to move forward.

" I wouldn't finish that sentence Miss Vincent, you want me alive to save Steve O'Brien, don't you?"

Claira looked back as David pulled the children away.

"Lower your guns or do you want to see the both of us turn red?"

Ed looked at him holding Annette.

"Alright, do as he says. He's right, we do want him alive, for a while longer, anyway."

"How did you find out about Steve being ill? We only put the call out on the bureaus' website…?"  
"And we have friends within that website that would easily do anything to help us, when we want them to."

David now tried to move forward.

"David, easy." Ed said grabbing him.

"What have you done to my brother? How long have you kept him out for? Days? Months? The whole season?"

"For as long as it takes, Mr Vincent…"

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Steve O'Brien is a traitor. I am also now in possession of a second generation traitor, but I may have found a way to help her…" He said looking down at Annette. "I'm full of tricks Mr Vincent. Who knows what I can accomplish when I have a full house?"

He now felt someone behind him and spun round.

"Try the ace in the hole!" Steve said grabbing Annette away from him.

The security men now opened fire on the doctor and he fell to the floor in a flame of red.

The children now ran to Steve and hugged him.

"Hey, easy. I'm not one hundred percent yet…"

David now moved up to him and shook his hand.

"Bro…"

He smiled and now hugged him.

"Well, if I knew that I was going to get this much attention from a common cold I'll catch one more often."

The children now started sneezing.

"Come to think of it, I've been feeling a bit chesty lately." Ed said slightly coughing.

EPILOG

Steve changed from his gown into his clothes. David walked in watching him.

"Are you sure your okay to go home?"

"I'm fine. I still feel a little bit of a sniffle, but that's what colds leave you with, ha?"

"Apparently so, yes." He said folding his arms looking at him.

Steve looked at him.

"What's on your mind?"

"Ha? Oh, nothing…."

"Come on bro, you can't fool me, we're brothers, body, soul and erm, blood now, I'd say." He said touching his arm.

"Well, I was just thinking, earlier… when I left you, you were out for the count and then, back there…"

"I just came round, heard the alarm, and noticed the doc on the computer. Then the kids ran in and it all kicked off as you saw."

"You've been on your back for the last three days…"

"Listen, when your kids are being threatened you have one thing on your mind. I was hurting, but I knew I was the only person who could help you back there."

"He could have killed you at any time, even me, it was only a matter of time…"

"Time that he didn't have and I did."

David just looked at him.

"I could have lost you at anytime over those three days."

"But you didn't. I'm a fighter, as an alien and as a human. Hey, I might even grow a heart, who knows what possibilities might arise from this?"

"Nothing! The next time you feel the slightest sniffle it's straight down the chemist for you and you can stay away from that typing pool!"

"Ah, Ellen McCormick. Hey, she's fair game now bro."

"Yeah, how come?"

"We've both been bitten by the bug." Steve said going out.

David watched him go and started to laugh as he followed him out.

THE END


	7. Chapter 7

**The Invaders**

**Red Tape**

A tow truck pulled up in the lane to the David's farmhouse to collect the mobile home that had been parked in it for, what seemed like an eternity.

Claira ran down the lane to watch it pull away.

"Well, good morning, sweet pea." Steve said walking out from his cottage.

"Is that it? Is that your temporary home gone for good?"

"Gone and good riddance to it. My back couldn't have stood another night on that makeshift bed." Steve said watching Claira move up to him for a hug.

"Claira?" Sarah said from the cottage.

Claira looked back then to Steve.

"Can I?"

"Of course. My home is your playground."

He watched her run in as he now watched David walk up to him.

"So, this is the big day, ha?" David said holding out his hand.

"You could call it that, in two ways." He said shaking it.

David looked at him.

"Meaning, the bureau?"

"Hmm, but lets not let them spoil the first part of the day. Come in to my humble abode and lets have a toast."

"You might have just pulled my leg."

They walked in and he handed out the drinks.

"To my new neighbour." Steve said looking at him.

"Your only neighbour."

"True."

They drank their glass of wine.

They walked through to the new area.

"This den is great. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Well, I am the architect and I must say that it has turned out pretty good."

"Better than good. It's brilliant."

"I hope the roof stays up." David said raising a laugh.

"It will stay up, unless a saucer decides to land on it. I didn't make it that strong."

The phone now started to ring.

"Excuse me." He said moving to the phone. "Steve O'Brien…"

David moved to the kitchen to pour out two more glasses as the children ran in.

"Hey great. My dad's given in to us indulging on intoxicating liquor, come on Sarah, grab a glass." Claira said moving forward.

"You touch that and your feet wont touch the floor for a month!" He said looking at her.

She watched him then moved back.

Steve now finished his phone call and moved in to the kitchen and grabbed a glass.

"Bad news?" David said watching him.

He looked at him.

"That was the bureau. They want to see me as soon as possible."

"Alright. I'll drive you in to town."  
"I can do this on my own, David, I don't need a wet nurse to…" He stopped and remembered where he was. He now looked at the children.

"Look, erm, David, can you get these kids out of my hair for a while, ha? I erm, I don't feel like, like being around you for a while."

"Being around, us? What does that supposed to mean?" Claira asked looking at him.

"Claira, just leave it." David said moving to her.

"No! He meant something by that, dad, do you mean 'us' as in humans, Steve?"

"Yes, I mean humans. Now get out of here!" He said throwing the glass to the wall.

David looked at him.

"I'll call you, when… when you've had a chance to cool down."

He nodded and moved away.

David grabbed the children and went out.

"What's going on, David?" Sarah asked as they walked back to the farmhouse.

"Nothing is going on, Sarah. Steve just needs some time alone, that's all. The move has got to him."

"The move? I've never seen an alien act like that before, dad, what's going on?"

He looked at her.

"The bureau want to see him today. I've offered to give him a lift, to be with there when they see him."

"See him about what? Dad, you're not making any sense, what's wrong with Steve?"

"Steve wants to be recognised as a human, but the bureau see it differently. They wont allow him to have a birth certificate. Steve is officially classed as an alien to them."

"A birth certificate? Something to make him prove that he was born on Earth," She said looking down.

"But, he wasn't, was he, David?" Sarah said looking at him.

He looked at her then walked on with the children.

Steve drove in to town that afternoon where Ed Scoville was waiting for him.

"Come on in, sit down."

"Thanks."

"Do you want a drink?"

"Scotch, thank you."

Ed moved to the drinks cabernet.

"I'm surprised that David isn't here…. He said looking back.

"I don't need him to shadow me everywhere I go. I can handle this situation on my own."

Ed watched him then handed him the glass.

"I know what my position in life and this bureau means to you, and in all fairness I'm sorry for the situation that you now find yourself in."

"Well, your bureau put me in it. I'm just happy to carry on my life as a persona non gratis if that's how it has to be."

"If there was any other way, Steve, you know that I would help you, but the law of the bureau is to go to any lengths within the American right of man to destroy all aliens and you are an alien. You cannot have a birth certificate because officially you were not born on Earth."

"The bureau's law is not the governments law, not the American Law as it stands today. I could walk out there and into a legal office and get myself a birth certificate and you would be none the wiser."

"You have no legal documents whatsoever, you do not exist to anyone out there, except for the Vincent's and Sarah Whitten who is a minor and at this moment is in as much of a problem as you are."

"You mean in regards to no family…?" He said then looked away.

Ed looked at him then went through his files.

"I want to adopt her. Give her a home a new beginning, with me, someone that loves her like she was my own."

"Impossible! You're not in any position to adopt anyone. The state does not recognise an alien as a human being."

"Then do something that will!" He said jumping up.

"You're a test case Steven, I can't help you." He said closing up the file.

Steve looked at him then went out.

David was checking dinner when Steve pulled in to the farmhouse driveway.

"Kids, Steve is back."

They jumped up from the sofa.

"Steve!" They both shouted.

David watched them bowl to the back door and run out.

"Well, if I knew that I was going to get this much attention coming home I would have got here sooner."

They followed him in.

"Bro?" He said walking in and grabbing a drink.

David watched him.

"I guess your meeting didn't go to plan?"

"You guess right. I am officially persona non-gratis. Now I know how Charlie Chaplin must of felt." He said moving away.

David watched him.

"Dinner will soon be ready. Are you hungry?"

"Well, it hasn't taken my appetite away. Hey, maybe that's it bro, go on a hunger strike. I don't eat until I get my birth certificate. It might work."

"And pigs might fly."

He stopped and looked at him.

"Well it was worth a try."

They were soon having dinner, which was unusually quiet, as everyone knew what everyone else was thinking.

"I can't believe that it all comes down to one piece of paper. A scrap of paper that tells you where you were born, what date, your parents, even your grandparents if you really want to go back into history. The trouble is I have no history. I don't even have a dam future at the moment." Steve said slowing getting drunk on David's scotch.

"It's red tape, we'll work something out, I promise."

"Yeah, it sure is red tape. My red tape as it disappears right up my, as I slowly burn to hell… Red tape… I can't even apply for a green card!"

He now noticed them all looking at him.

"Do you want to help me with the dishes?" David asked getting up.

"Yeah, why not." He said moving up to the sink.

"I have my birth certificate around here somewhere. It has dad's name on it… if I can only find it." Claira said getting up from her seat.

"It has David's name on it? How's that Claira, your adopted, it should have your parents name on it, shouldn't it?" Sarah asked watching her.

"It does have my parents name on it and it also informs you that I was adopted… ah here it is." Claira said running back in. "See, Claira Vincent, born September 2nd 1995." Claira now placed it on the table and Steve looked back.

"That reminds me." He said turning back.

"What reminds you?"

"The adoption. I want to adopt Sarah as soon as possible. She needs a father and I know that I can be one to her."

David looked at him.

"Are you sure? I mean, you can't even get yourself recognised as a person at the moment, how long do you think it will take to become a father?"

"How long did it take you?"

"Months! I had to fight off the competition from the aliens who tried to take Claira away from me."

"I might think about giving up after a year then." He said finishing the last plate and going to Sarah for a hug.

David looked back and watched them. He now looked at Claira reading her birth certificate.

The next day David drove in to town for a meeting with Ed Scoville.

"Did you manage to catch Steve yesterday?"

"Oh yes. He drank all my scotch to drown his sorrows." He said then sat down.

"Hmm, I thought that he might do something like that."

"Well, what did you expect? You practically threw a big red sign at him with the word 'alien' written over it, right at him yesterday. He's going to wake up with one hell of a hangover this morning."

"We cannot help him, David. Our hands are tied."

"Maybe you wont have to help him."

"What do you mean?"

"How about if I offered out my hand of friendship and adopted him just like I adopted Claira?"

Ed looked at him.

"You really want to do that?"

"In order for him to adopt Sarah, yes. Steve's right, she does need a father and Steve is perfect for her."

"But, making Steve a part of your family. Your family David, and you were the first to discover these aliens and now you want to have one of them as, as your brother?"

"In order to help him out in any way possible, yes." He said looking at him. ""Can it be done?"

"Well, legally, yes, but, David, you have to stop and think about this."

"I have. All night as I watched him get slowly drunk on my scotch!" He said standing up and turning to face him.

Ed watched him.

"Would you sort out the paperwork for me?"

"If you really want this?"

"I want this. There is no other way."

"Alright. I'll sort the paperwork out. You can bring him in tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I will. Thank you." He said holding out his hand.

"Personally, I think your mad David, but it is your family…" He said shaking it.

"Your right, it is, and Steve is a big part of my family."

Ed now watched him leave.

David drove home and moved into the farmhouse. Steve was still flat out of the sofa.

"I don't believe this. That's where I left him this morning."

"He hasn't moved. You don't think that he's, he's…" Claira said taking David's hand.

"No, I certainly don't think he's dead, Claira. Come on bro, up and at 'em." He said nudging him.

"Ah, not so loud." He said moving and then holding his head.

Sarah now moved up to him.

"Are you alright, Steve?"

He sat up.

"I'm fine, darling."

"Black coffee?" David said going into the kitchen.

"And loads of it, quick!" He said getting up and following him.

"Where have you been all morning, daddy?" Claira asked behind him.

He looked at her.

"In town."

"What for?"

He now looked at Steve.

"Sorting a few things out, darling."

Steve held his head.

"The only things you need to sort out in town are that bureau! Edgar Scoville is coming straight off my Christmas list."

"As a matter of fact I was sorting out the bureau and your problem with them."

Steve now focused in on him.

"Go on."

"Try the coffee first. You might want to sit down."

"I'm fed up with the courtesy bit, David, just tell me what you went to the bureau about."

He looked at him.

"About you getting a birth certificate…."

Steve now turned away.

"Forget it, I've tried, it's a non starter." He said grabbing the cup, which held the black liquid.

"As Steve Vincent."

Steve turned back to look at him and nearly dropped the cup.

"Steve, Steve Vincent?"

"If you could live with me as your brother, I mean, if not,"

Steve now jumped up and hugged him.

"Hey, easy. I'm not that way inclined."

He now shook his hand.

"Steven Vincent…. Man, I've got to let that one sink in."

"Take all the time you need. You sign the documents tomorrow which should then allow you to adopt Sarah, if that is still you intentions."

He looked at him then remembered Sarah and looked back.

"My god, Sarah!"

Sarah was with Claira who were both looking on in amazement.

"I've got to get her home. I need to explain…"

"Well, there's no time like the present."

"Your right, yeah." He said then went up to the children. He looked at Claira first. "Darling." He said touching her face.

"Uncle…?"

"Shooosh, not yet. In the morning."

He now moved to Sarah.

"I think that it's time I took you home. We need to talk about what is going to happen in the morning." He said picking her up and carrying her out.

Claira moved up to David and he now held her.

"Daddy?"

He looked at her.

"Yes baby?"

"Is that the only way that Steve, Uncle Steve can, can?"

He kissed her. "It's the only way darling and it's the best way. For Steve and for Sarah."

The next day they were in town. Ed watched Steve as he walked in to his office.

"I have to tell you Steve that this has come as some kind of a shock to the bureau, what David has done…"

"In a way sir, it has come as a bit of a shock to me too, although our meanings are completely different."

"Do you also have the file for Sarah's adoption?" David asked looking at the forms.

"It's all there. All notarised, ready to be signed."

David picked up the pen.

"Well then, lets get it over with." Steve said taking the pen from him.

Ed now walked away quite loudly which made everyone in the room stop for a moment and watch him.

"Bro…?" David said diverting his attention back to the paperwork.

"Erm, yes."

He now signed the form and then David signed it. He looked at Steve.

"Congratulations, it's a brother." Steve said shaking David's hand.

The family now hugged each other.

"Now, I think it's time you had a daughter." David said looking on.

He looked at him then Sarah and signed his name on the adoption form. He now moved up to her.

"Miss Sarah Whitten, my name is Steve Vincent and I have just become your father, making you now, Sarah Vincent." He said taking hold of her.

They watched them.

Claira now went up to her.

"That means you now have to call him dad."

"Claira, I think she knows that darling. Anyway, you were calling me dad long before I adopted you." David said looking on.

She now looked at him.

"I know I was daddy, but, but…" She now went to him for a hug.

"And don't forget darling, this now means you have a cousin." Steve said looking on.

She looked back. "Yeah, a cousin. Wow, that's one member of the family I've never had, great Uncle Steve." She said beaming at him.

Ed now coughed behind them.

"Erm, if you're quite finished I would like my office back."

"Come on, let's get out of here before I say something I might not regret." Steve said as they left.

Ed moved to the paperwork and stared at the signatures upon the pages then slowly picked them up and filed them away.

EPILOG

They went to a local watering hole for a meal. Steve checked his birth certificate.

"Will you stop flashing that around? You were born, what else is on there that's so interesting?" David asked looking on.

"Our parents. Hey bro, even our grandparents."

"Well, now you have a past, what are you going to do in the future?" He said raising his glass in a toast.

He lifted his glass, looked at him then the children then back at David again.

"Live. What every alien has ever dreamed of."

David looked at him then at Claira who was staring at him. David now slowly nodded and acknowledged him and started to drink the contents of his glass.

They enjoyed the rest of the day and evening together.

THE END.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Invaders**

This is another of those one minute wonder stories, that wont last, but seeing that the ending suddenly came to me while I was on the toilet, I feel that in a way that it is somewhat, complete.

This story is set some years later than my other stories.

Claira Vincent is now fourteen years old and is hip deep in study. She has been transferred to another class due to the fact that she has wanted to change her studies in some subjects.

While at break one day she is approached by one of her new classmates.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Claira looked up. "No, be my guest."

"Thank you." The boy said sitting down.

Claira carried on reading her notes.

"I believe that you're in my class."

"Ha?" She said now looking up again.

"Your in my form class."

"Erm, yeah, I guess."

"Jonathan Glassner."

"I beg your pardon?"

"My name. Your Claira.., erm.."

"Vincent… My name is Claira Vincent."

"That's it, Vincent. Well, it's nice to meet you, finally."

Claira went back to her work.

"What are you working on?"

Claira sighed and closed her folder.

"Geographic lay lines in relation to structural buildings and the forces that comes in to play with those buildings."

"Is that so?" He said facing her. "I would say that there was nothing in it. It doesn't matter where a building is placed. Lay lines have no bearing on structural forces good or bad."

Claira stared at him with her mouth wide open. She then realised that he was in the same class as her. She then looked down and chuckled to herself.

"I'm sorry, that's my dad talking in me. He's an architect and I guess that I've always wanted to follow in his footsteps."

"Why would you want to? Your adopted, just like me and I have no intention of following in my adopted fathers footsteps."

"Your… You know that I'm adopted? Well, how?"

"Relax… I heard the head talking about you when you transferred over to my class. At least we have something in common."

"Is that so?" She said standing up.

"Have I offended you, because, if I have, I would like to apologise."

She looked at him. "Well, I…"

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Ha?"

"I'm asking you out on a date, if you're interested?"

Claira looked at her course work then at Jonathan.

"Alright… but not too late or my dad will start wondering where I've got to."

"Oh, he's the protective type."

"No, not really, I just hate explaining to him where I go some nights."

"Well, your old man need not threat tonight. We'll probably end up in the local café with all the other kids."

That evening Claira was walking down the lane towards the farmhouse when Sarah came running out of her driveway.

"Claira.."

"Oh, hi Sarah."

"Dad's up at uncle David's house. I'll walk up with you."

"Oh, right."

"What have you got there? More boring course work?"

"Hey, get your hands off. You'll be doing this in a year or so's time."

"Ha, no way. I'm not getting in to all that stuff. I've read what you've been studying…"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really."

They reached the farmhouse still arguing.

"Ah, that sounds like the terrible two now." David said as they walked in.

"Ohhh, now what are they rowing about?" Steve said moving out of the kitchen to greet them.

Claira put her course work down and headed down the hall to her bedroom.

David noticed this and headed her off.

"Claira."

She stopped and looked back.

"Where are you going? Dinner is nearly ready."

"I'll be out in a minute, dad, okay?"

"What have you and Sarah been talking about?"

"Nothing, as per usual with her."

David walked back to the kitchen where Steve and Sarah were.

"Look, maybe we should go. I've got dinner cooking at home and I can't keep this one quiet unless she has some food in her mouth." Steve said looking on.

"Hey, that's not true… dad…Uncle David, you know me…"

"He knows you only too well. Come on. We'll see you in the morning David."

"Yeah, sure." David said watching them go then went back to setting up the table.

Claira came out a few minutes later. David noticed that she had her best dress on.

"Okay, so, where are you going this evening?"

"Out."

"I gathered that. Anyone I know?"

"A friend at school."

"Boy or girl?"

"Look dad, what's with the twenty questions? I'm not one of your investigator people, you know… Have you seen an alien, if so, when, where???"

"Claira!" He said raising his voice.

"I'm going out with a boy… friend. Please note the space I gave between boy and friend because I don't want you thinking that he is another boyfriend, because…."

"Another?" He said stopping her mid sentence.

"Look… What does it matter? Nothing is going to happen and nothing is going on."

Claira slowly ate her meal.

They soon finished and Claira helped him clear away. She looked up at the clock.

"Well, I better get ready to leave."

"Do you want me to give you a lift to the café?"

She looked at him.

"How do you know that we're going there?"

"Well, that's where you all hang out isn't it?"

She looked at him and laughed. She now hugged him.

"I guess you'd like to meet him, yes?"

"Well, it's only fair. I'd like to meet this young man who's taken a fancy to my daughter…"

"Dad, it's not that kind of a date. We've only just met since I transferred classes. Besides, we've got something else in common."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"He's adopted."

He looked at her."

"Alright."

"Is that all your going to say?" She said looking at him.

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

Claira looked away and shrugged her shoulders.

"I dun no., something other than, alright."

"He's adopted, your adopted, big deal."

"Fine." She said walking away.

David watched her go to the living room and put on her shoes.

"I'll warm the car up."

"No need. I fancy the walk."

"Claira."

"Forget it dad. I know what you're going to say. I've had eight years of this. I think that I should know you by now. Don't wait up for me, I might be back late."

"After ten and I send out the search guards."

"Ten o'clock??? Dad!"

David moved up to her.

"Ten thirty, Claira Vincent." He said then kissed her.

She smiled and hugged him.

"Thanks, dad."

Claira walked in to the café and met Jonathan.

"I ordered a coke for you, is that alright?"

"Fine." She said sitting down.

Jonathan watched Claira for a while as she sipped at her coke.

"How's the course work going?" He asked.

"You should know, we're studying the same things."

"Yeah, right." He said looking away.

"Are you alright?" She said moving to look at him.

"Ha?" He now turned back.

"You seem edgy…"

"Nah, I'm alright."

"Don't tell me, you have a thousand and one questions to ask me, right?"

"No…! Well…." He said shyly looking at her.

"Why don't you ask them."

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Well, ask and I'll tell you if their too personal."

"Okay…"

They talked for the rest of the evening.

They soon left the café and Jonathan led Claira back to her farmhouse.

"How did you get to live in a farmhouse?"

"It's a long story…"

"Well, this is a long driveway."

"Which is half owned by my uncle."

"Ha?"

"My uncle and cousin live in that small cottage through the trees just over there, see it."

"Oh yeah…"

"Dad, gave my uncle Steve the house so that he could help him out on a few things."

"What kind of things."

Claira looked at him. "I'll tell you when I've known you a bit better."

"If I'm starting to pry then I do apologise."

"No, it's just a little complicated at the moment to explain a few things. You might not want to know me if I told you."

"Try me."

"I will, but not tonight. The lights on in the porch, dad always leaves it on for me."

"Does that mean he's gone to bed?"

"No way. My dad is probably watching us walk up right at this very minute."

"Oh…"

"But, don't let him spoil the moment."

They now kissed. Afterwards, they walked up to the door hand in hand.

"I better go."

"Hmm, thanks for seeing me to the door. Are you sure you can find your way back to the road from here?"

"I'm sure."

They now kissed again as the door opened. Claira almost fell backwards. She now bolted upright and turned round.

"Dad, do you mind?"

"I was wondering if you did." He said folding his arms looking at her.

"Well, I'll see you in school, Claira." Jonathan said grabbing her attention away from her father for a moment.

"Yeah, fine." She said waving him on.

"Mr Vincent."

"Nice meeting you, erm…?" David held out his hand in anticipation.

"Jonathan… Jonathan Glassner." He said now shaking it.

"Well dad, now that you've met him you can see that he's not an animal and I'm not totally mad."

"Are you sure about that, darling? Jonathan, nice to meet you." He said the released his grip,

"And you two, sir. Well, erm, I must be going. My parents are going to wonder where I've got to."

"No, we mustn't keep you any longer." David said watching him move backwards.

"See you tomorrow, Jonathan." Claira said waving him goodbye.

David watched Claira trot in and closed the door behind her.

"Well, did you have a nice evening?"

"Yeah, it was okay."

He moved forward. "Okay?" He said now moving her scarf to see the love bite on her neck.

"Dad!" She said turning away and replacing her scarf.

"Are you going to explain that in the morning to your friends or are you going to wear that scarf all day in class?"

"That's for me to deal with, dad, not you." She said moving to the hall mirror.

David watched her go just as the phone started to ring. He moved to the sofa and sat down grabbing the phone.

A while later Claira came back out in her nightdress and moved to the kitchen to grab a glass of milk.

David moved up to her and grabbed a beer.

"That was the bureau."

"Really?"

"They're downloading some more alien infiltration plans to my computer."

Claira sipped at her milk. "That means you'll have Uncle Steve in here all tomorrow evening with Sarah running amok in the background."

"I seem to remember a certain Claira Vincent doing that not so long ago." He said moving her hair away from her face.

"Yeah, well that was then. I've grown up now."

"Really?" He said noticing the mark on her neck again.

Claira grabbed her glass and headed back to her bedroom. David watched her go and started to think to himself.

The next morning, Claira awoke to Steve's voice in the hallway. She walked out of her bedroom and into the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes and focused in on David and Steve hovering over the computer.

"Now this is good… That's Wensley Falls." Steve said pointing to the screen.

"Where's that?"

"It's an old dyked mud flat near Pittsburgh. I've seen old photos of it for some time now."

"There was a landing there last week and twice last month." David said looking at him.

"Might be some new interest around there. But, it's been discovered. If I was interested in it I wouldn't want to visit it personally."

Claira moved forward and looked at the screen.

"Well, hello darling, and how are we this fine morning?" Steve said hugging her.

"I'm fine, uncle Steve. What's the interest in that Wensley?"

"Wensley Falls… We've got a folder full on the area." David said handing her the dossier.

"How many landings so far?" Claira said sitting down next to him.

"Five in the last six months." He added.

Claira flipped through the folder.

"I don't see what the bureau has on this place. It's not a dedicated site." Steve said pointing to the folder.

Claira now looked up and stared straight at his little finger sticking out. David watched her then looked at Steve.

"Did we forget something this morning?" He said directing his voice to his hand.

He looked at his finger and quickly moved it out of view.

"Sorry…, it's just that when you called this morning…, I haven't even had a shave…, dam, Sarah." He said jumping up and running out.

Claira laughed and moved in to the kitchen.

"Well, you sound in a better mood this morning." David said following her.

"I am. You know, it's amazing what a good nights sleep can do." She said turning away and stretching.

"Thinking about boys does that." He said quietly.

"Ha?" She said now turning back.

"Don't you think that you should be having a shower and getting ready for school?"

"Alright…" She said looking at him as she walked away.

Claira met Sarah at the main gate and they caught the bus in to school. Jonathan was waiting as the bus pulled up.

"Oh dam… look Sarah, you run ahead…"

"What and miss all the fun? No fear."

"Sarah…" She said under her breath.

She ran to Jonathan.

"Hi." Sarah said almost in his face.

"Hello, erm…" He looked up to see Claira moving behind her.

"I'm Sarah, Claira's cousin." She said shaking his hand.

Claira barged forward.

"Erm Sarah, don't you think that you should be going in now?"

"No, we've still got five minutes. So, tell me all about yourself Jonathan?"

"Well, there's nothing much to say."

Claira watched the way Sarah was all over him. Luckily the bell rang and Sarah soon ran in.

"Look, I'm sorry about that."

"No, don't be. I know what people are like when they try to get hold of a bit of gossip."

They walked in to class.

Some days later and Claira starts to trust Jonathan a bit more and decides to talk to him about being adopted.

"How about if I tell you how and why I was adopted if you tell me the same about you."

"Alright."

They walked over to the outdoor seating area.

"I can still remember my parents. I think about them everyday and I know that my dad realises this too." Claira said as she played with the patterns in the wood.

"What we're they like?" Jonathan asked breaking her concentration.

She looked up. "They we're my mum and dad." She said shrugging her shoulders.

"We're they like Mr Vincent, I mean…"

"Like my dad?" She paused for a moment. "It's hard to answer that. Yes and no. I would never give up my dad for the world, but to have my parents back again…. Don't you feel the same about your parents?" She asked looking on.

"Which ones? My real parents who I never knew or my adopted parents?"

"You never knew your real parents?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I was adopted by my mum and dad and well, I can't remember anything else before that."

"But, wasn't you the same age as me when you were adopted?"

"Yes."

"Well you must remember something of them."

He now stood up.

"No.., it's hard." He said touching his head

Claira watched him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes…!" He now looked at her and ran off.

"Jonathan!"

That evening at the Glassner household, Jonathan started to talk to his parents about Claira.

"We were talking about the fact that we're both adopted. The only things is that she can remember her real parents and yet when I try to…" He now held his head again.

"We told you, son. We're your parents… you don't have to remember your real parents. What else did Claira say?"

"But, don't you see, it's hard for me to explain that I'm adopted when all I remember is you two. I know that I am adopted, but to remember my real parents." He now stood up and collapsed on the floor.

They looked at one another.

"It's not working…" His mother said.

"Nonsense… we just have to work on him a bit more."

"The headaches are becoming more prominent. If Claira catches on…"

"She wont make the connection of these headaches to the device." He said pulling out the spinning disc device and put it to Jonathan's head.

"We've spent years conditioning him for this. If we fail when we're so close…"

"I know our objectives. Wensley Falls is already on the bureau's computer, but they wont make any connection to us."

"Steve O'Brien is helping them. He knows of us and the plans that were laid down long before we left."

"Again, they will make now connection with us. By the time they piece this all together we will have the Vincent's on their knees, all thanks to our son." He said using the disc on him and patting Jonathan on the head like he was a puppy.

Claira was quiet all evening during the boring news about another war.

"Are you interested in this?"

"Ha?"

"The news? The news about the war?"

"Erm, no, not really."

"Good, I can turn it off then. I've had enough of wars to last me a lifetime. I always thought that we'd learnt our lesson with the Vietnam War, seems like I was wrong there, as well." He said getting up and moving over to the kitchen to grab a beer and a quick fag.

Claira looked at him then got up and moved over to the stall and sat down.

"What's bothering you this evening?"

"I was talking to Jonathan earlier about his real parents, my real parents."

David watched Claira playing with the patterns on the worktop.

"You trust him enough to talk about them to him?"

"Well, it comes up in the word adopted…"

David moved over to the worktop and put his bottle down.

"What exactly did you talk about?"

"Well, that's what's been puzzling me all evening. He couldn't remember his real parents. He was adopted at the same age as me and yet he couldn't remember his real mum and dad."

"Well, maybe he doesn't want to. Something bad might had happened that he might have blocked out and it's hard for him to remember them."

"Yeah, it was hard alright. He held his head like he was having bad headaches when it came to remember them."

David looked at her.

"If you hadn't had had such a bad experience with your parents I would think that you would of eventually forgot them." He said touching her.

Claira watched him. "Dad, I'm talking about Jonathan here. I'm worried about him."

He grabbed his beer. "Of course you are. All adoptee's together. Don't forget your cousin, Sarah, she's adopted too."

"Yeah, to an alien!" She said sarcastically.

"And who can't forget that she once had alien parents?" David said in a silly voice.

She looked at him then jumped down.

"Claira!" He said moving round to her. "I'm sorry, but Jonathan is not your priority, he's just a…"

She faced him. "You'll never understand." She said then ran to her room.

David went back to his beer and the depressing news about the war.

The next day Claira was in class and watched Jonathan. She soon approached him at break.

"How are you today?"

"Fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, after yesterday, I was wondering if it was alright to still speak to you."

"Yesterday? Oh, talking about my parents? It's okay. If I can't remember them, I can't remember them, it's as simple as that." He said moving away.

"But, doesn't it bother you?"

"No."

Claira followed him, which started to aggravate him.

"Look Claira, can't we cool this for a while, ha?"

"You don't like me anymore, is that it?"

"No! I just… Maybe it was wrong to tell you that I was adopted, I don't know. I just wanted to find some common ground with you."

"You have. It just seems weird that you can't remember your real parents like I can."

"It's not weird to me. I can't remember them, end of story."

Claira stopped and watched him move further away from her.

When they left for home that evening, Claira managed to catch up with Jonathan.

"Have you told your mum and dad about me?"

"What?" He said looking back.

"You know. Do they know about me?"

"Yes. I've told them about you."

"Well, would they like to meet me? You've met my old man, now I'd like to meet your parents."

He looked at her.

"Not at the moment Claira, please."

"Why not?"

"It's just not a good time at home at the moment. When it is I'll introduce you, I promise. Now, I have to get home."

Claira stayed back but decided to follow him home. She watched him go in to his house, waited around for a while then decided to go home.

She walked through the door of the farmhouse to find David throwing the dinner down the garbage shoot.

"Well, you've missed dinner. Where have you been? School finished ages ago."

"I followed Jonathan back to his parents home."

"Well, why on earth did you do that for?" He said looking at her.

"I was worried about him."

"Look, darling, don't you think that you're taking this all a little bit too seriously?"

"What?"

"Well, following him home. Your not falling for this kid, are you?"

"Dad!!!"

"Well, what do you want me to think? I'm your father."

"I am worried about Jonathan because of the way that he has been acting lately, there's nothing between us."

"Then, maybe you should give him a little space. Guys don't like being pushed into relationships…"

"Spoken from the head of handling relationships, Mr David Vincent." Claira said applauding him.

"Claira! You're still young enough to go over my knee, you know."

"Dad, I am being serious here. I am worried about Jonathan."

He looked at her.

"Where does he live?"

"On the south side."

"Alright, we'll go and see him. Have a talk to his parents. It will give you the chance to meet them like Jonathan did with me."

Claira stepped forward.

"Thanks, dad." She said lightly kissing him.

David drove Claira over to the house.

"Well, at least someone's home." He said turning off the engine and getting out.

Claira waited for him to come round and they walked up the long path together.

She knocked on the porch door and waited for someone to appear. Slowly someone opened the door. It was Jonathan slightly aghast at them being there.

"Claira, Mr Vincent."

"I told you, Jonathan, my name is David.

"Sorry…erm.

"Could we come in, please Jonathan?" Claira asked moving forward.

"Claira!" David said in a stern voice.

She slightly moved back.

"I'm so worried about you Jonathan, why do you think we're here."

"I've no idea. I'm fine, really now, please, just leave."

Claira looked at David for support.

"Jonathan. Is there any chance I could meet your parents?"

"My parents?" He said slightly looking back.

"Yes…" Claira said moving forward again but now being immediately pulled back by her father. "Dad…"

"If this isn't a good time, son, we'll come back when…."

"Jonathan?" A voice said from inside the house.

The door now opened wider and Jonathan's parents stood before them.

"Hello… erm can we help you?"

"Yes… my name is Claira Vincent, I go to school with your son."

"May we come in and have a chat with you, erm Mr and Mrs Glassner, my daughter is a little worried about Jonathan at present and I am only here to try and allay her well, worries regarding your son." David said moving forward.

"Worries about Jonathan? Well, what kind of worries?"

"May we come in?" David said pointing back.

"Erm, yes, of course."

They were soon in the house and David was sampling the house scotch.

Claira watched Jonathan as David discussed a few things with Jonathan's parents.

"Another scotch, Mr Vincent?"

"Please, call me David, erm, I better not. I am driving."

"And seeing that I'm not quite yet old enough to drive, although I suppose I would be quite capable of aspiring to that feat."

"Claira." He said staring at her.

She now looked away.

"I gave Jonathan a spin in my Chrysler the other month, you loved it, didn't you, son?"

David looked at Jonathan.

"A Chrysler? My parents had a Chrysler. They haven't got lumpy seats, have they?"

"No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Claira has a thing about lumpy seats in Chryslers."

"Not just Chryslers dad, what about your old car. That had lumpy seats and that was a Buick."

"Claira, I don't think that we're here to discuss cars that have lumpy seats."

"Yes, erm, why are you here, David?" Jonathan's mother now asked.

"Why can't Jonathan remember his real parents?" Claira said moving forward in her seat.

"Get straight to the point, child." David said under his breath.

"Well, I'm not sure he didn't." His mother said looking at Jonathan.

"Would you mind not talking about me as if I wasn't here? If I can't remember my real parents then why don't you just accept that? Doesn't it mean that I must enjoy my parents now as my real parents?"

"I have tried to put that point across to Claira many times before and I'm glad that you have now helped to clarify this." David said directing his voice to Claira who was not at all comforted by his words.

"But there's always that air of…" She stopped and looked at David who was now looking at her. "I just think that it's right to remember your real parents…"

"Yeah, right for you." David said finishing his drink and standing up. "Maybe we should be going."

"No! Jonathan, do they know about your headaches?"

His parents looked at Claira then Jonathan.

"Yes, of course they do. Their my parents."

"Haven't you tried to find out what that problem is? Why he keeps having these headaches? He's in such pain sometimes and it all seems to be connected with Jonathan trying to remember his real parents."

"Jonathan has had these headaches for a while now, but they are not in any way related to his parents or the fact that he is having trouble remembering them."

Claira looked at Jonathan.

"It didn't seem like that way to me." She said moving forward. "You can remember your real parents, can't you?" She said touching him.

They watched as Jonathan tried for her. The pain soon entered his mind and he collapsed to the floor holding the back of his neck.

"No… The pain, it's…"

David moved up to him and noticed a slight abrasion at the base of his neck. It reminded him of something that he had seen before, but at that point it did not click with him because he was more interested in helping Jonathan.

His parents now comforted him.

Claira watched him as he now relaxed as the pain left him.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"I am now, thank you."

"I think that we should be leaving." David said grabbing Claira's hand.

"Okay. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah." Jonathan said watching them leave.

David closed the door and looked back for a second.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, I'm coming."

He now drove home but couldn't help thinking about Jonathan. He pulled into the lane then turned off to Steve's house.

"Why are we heading to uncle Steve's for?" She asked.

"I need to check something with him. You can wait in the car if you don't want to catch Sarah."

She looked at him. "No, I might as well come in."

"Sure?"

"I'm sure."

They now got out and went up to the door and David rang the bell.

Sarah opened the door.

"Uncle David, Claira, hi,"

"Hello darling, is your dad in, I need to speak with him about something."

"He's in the den. He said something about regenerating…"

Claira cleared her throat.

"Maybe we can go to your room and play for a while, ha, Sarah."

"Good idea. I'll call if I need you." David said kissing her and watching her go in the back with Sarah in tow.

David went through to the den and saw Steve in his chamber. He now cleared his throat, which made Steve turn round.

"David…erm, hang on a minute." Steve said pressing a few buttons as the glass panel opened. "Sorry about that, erm, what can I do for you?" He said now grabbing his ring and putting it on his little finger.

"You can help me out with something of an alien matter."

"Sure. Do you want a scotch?"

"Okay."

"Come on through to the living room. Did you bring Claira with you?"

"I did. She's playing with Sarah as we speak."

"Ahhh, I wonder how long that will last."

"Maybe some time. Sarah said that you were regenerating and you know how much that upsets Claira."

"Well, that's alright then. Cheers."

They sat down.

"So, what do you need my help with this time?"

"This may sound a little far fetched and I haven't run this through with Claira yet, but I would not like to believe that Claira's boyfriend, Jonathan is under some kind of alien intervention." He said looking at him.

Steve stopped and looked at him. "Go on."

David got up and moved to the fireplace staring into the unlit fire.

"Claira told me that Jonathan has been suffering from very bad headaches and I witnessed one of these headaches today and when Jonathan collapsed, I noticed a burn mark to the base of his neck that looks very much like a ray burn from an alien device."

"You mean to say that you think that Jonathan is being controlled by aliens?"

David looked at him then swallowed his drink.

"I don't know what to think. I'm only going on what I've seen and that looked to me like a transfer abrasion."

"There's only one way to find out. Can I meet him?"

David sighed.

"If you meet him Claira's going to know I suspect something other than human interaction."

"I promise that I will be very discreet. We could just run in to him, or something, while out for the day."

"I'll try and work something out."

David finished the scotch.

"I think that we should be getting back." He said putting his glass down on the table.

"You know we could easily finish this bottle off. There is a spare room going for the night."

"Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"I have only your good intentions at heart."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"The kids are quiet. I bet that they're already asleep."

"Go on then. You've twisted my arm."

Steve poured out another two glasses.

The next morning Sarah and Claira came bounding out of the bedroom screaming and shouting. Steve and David jumped up with a start and then remembered their hangovers.

"Ah god, what time is it?" David said trying to focus.

Claira looked at them.

"Nearly seven. Did you two get drunk again last night?"

"Drunk? What's that?" Steve said now trying to stand up.

"Daddy…" Sarah said going to his side.

"Ah forget it Sarah, you wont get any change out of them until lunch. I'll make us some breakfast."

David watched Claira go to the kitchen and moved up to the worktop.

"Did you have a nice sleep at your cousins?"

She looked back. "It was okay. How was your all night drinking binge with Uncle Steve?"

"Claira, not this morning, please." He said holding his head.

"You know you should be lucky that it's a Saturday. You would look lovely turning up to work like that. Eggs and bacon sound all right?" She said picking up an egg from the rack.

He now turned away.

Claira chuckled and started to make Sarah and herself some breakfast.

They soon finished breakfast. Steve and David finally found their feet and helped the children clear away.

Steve started to play with Sarah, which made Claira look on. David moved up to her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You alright, dad?" She said turning to face him.

"Could never be better. I was just wondering how you were feeling, that's all."

"You mean about Jonathan, yeah?" She said staring at him.

"Besides other things, yes." He said now looking at Steve with Sarah.

Claira moved forward to the sofa and sat down.

David looked down and slowly moved up to her and sat down.

"Claira, he's going to be alright, you know, Jonathan."

"Yeah, I know…"

David now kissed her and allowed her to move into his chest for a hug.

That afternoon they all went to the local water hole for a late lunch. Sarah managed to drag them all to the local mall to hang out for the rest of the day with a little bit of window-shopping.

Claira moved up to the food hall and noticed Jonathan in the queue for his dinner. She quickly grabbed a tray and moved up to him.

"Hello Jonathan." She said forcefully.

He turned to look at her.

"Hi." He said quietly.

She quickly got some food with him.

David noticed Claira in the queue with him. He called Steve over to him.

"That's Claira's boyfriend, Jonathan."

"Is that so? Well, I guess that this is a good a time as any to introduce Claira's Uncle into the frame." He said moving forward.

Claira looked back and noticed him.

"Oh dam, look out."

Jonathan looked back.

"Well, who's he?"

"My uncle, he's a, ….erm, never mind." She said looking away.

Steve met them as they walked to their table.

"Darling." He said kissing her.

"Uncle Steve." She said now putting her tray down on the table.  
"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Ha? Oh erm, Jonathan, this is my uncle Steve, uncle this is my erm…" She stopped.

Jonathan looked at her.

"I'm not your anything, Claira. Jonathan Glassner." He said shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you." Steve said watching him.

David grabbed some dinner for Sarah and they all sat down chatting.

To Claira's annoyance, Steve got straight to the point with Jonathan.

"I've been hearing from my niece that you have been suffering from headaches lately."

"Oh what so you're a doctor now, are you, uncle Steve?" She said looking up from her plate.

"Claira!" David said looking at her.

She looked away.

"Erm, only slight headaches. It's nothing to write home about." He said carrying on.

"Really." Steve said watching his reactions.

"Last nights one was pretty dramatic, Jonathan, you collapsed." David said.

Claira now looked at Jonathan.

"It just happens, sometimes." Jonathan said shrugging his shoulders.

"David said that when he checked you yesterday he noticed an abbrassion to the base of your neck." He said looking at him.

Claira now jumped up.

"Nooooo!" She said realising what Steve was implying.

"Claira sit down, you're causing a scene." David said pulling her back down.

She looked at David then Steve and slowly took her seat.

Jonathan looked at Claira then turned to Steve.

"I sometimes get an abrasion if I hit my head as I fall, or something."

"Do you mind if I'd be the judge of that? I've had some experience in this sort of thing."

Jonathan watched him for a few seconds not sure what to think.

"I could just check you over in the toilet over there." Steve added.

He slowly nodded.

"Good, if you would excuse us." Steve said rising to his feet.

"I'm coming with you." Claira said getting up.

"I think that would be impossible, Claira." Steve said turning to face her.

"Oh yeah… and how do you work that one out, uncle Steve? Claira said folding her arms in front of him.

"You're not male." He said touching her face.

"And your not human, uncle Steve." She said making sure that her voice was felt as well as heard around the mall.

David looked at her then cleared his throat.

She looked at him then realised where she was and looked away.

"I'm sorry… I.,, I didn't know…, uncle Steve, I'm sorry."

Steve moved forward and lifted her face to kiss her.

"I understand darling. We wont be long."

"Do you mind if I tag along?" David said behind them.

Steve nodded.

Claira and Sarah watched them head to the toilets.

Steve now checked Jonathan over and immediately noticed the mark.

"Well?" David said stepping forward.

"Yeah, this is an alien mark."

"Dam. I thought so, you could see why I needed your opinion."

"It's been used on him for some time now." He said reaching into his pocket and taking out one of the devices.

Jonathan looked at him.

"Have you seen one of these before?"

"Yes, my parents…" He said staring at it.

"Jonathan, your parents are like me." Steve said stepping away.

"Like you?"

"He means that their aliens, Jonathan. They are not your real parents even if you were adopted or not." David said watching him.

"Aliens?" He said looking down in disgust at the mere mention of the word.

David tried his best to explain to him what he could to him.

Claira and Sarah started to drink their shakes when they noticed two men walking through the food hall.

"Look's like the mall has employed some new security guards." Sarah said.

Claira watched as they headed towards the toilets. She now noticed their fingers.

"My god… dad! Sarah, their not security guards, their aliens. Come on, we've got to tell the adults." She said jumping up.

"What? Claira, wait!" Sarah added trying to follow.

Claira pushed her way through the crowded mall and headed off the aliens as they both reached the mall toilets.

She hovered round the men's entrance.

"Dad!" She said as her voice echoed into the toilet area.

"That's Claira." Steve said looking back.  
"Something must be up or she wouldn't…" David said then stopped. "I'll go and check. You stay here." He said going out to the entrance.

The aliens now appeared in front of him.

He stared straight at their hands.

"Steve! Get the boy down, you're not alone." He said as his voice echoed down the toilet corridor towards them.

He popped his head round the corner and noticed the aliens moving towards them with their guns.

"Daddy!!!" Claira shouted as the aliens opened fire.

Steve now coward by the door with Jonathan next to him.

"What's going on? Why are they firing on us?"

"They know that we know kid. I don't know how we're going to get out of this one."

"Your finger. My parents, they…." He said looking at his hand.

"Yeah, I'm also an alien but would you believe it if I said that I was one of the good guys?" He said looking at him.

"I don't know what to believe at the moment. My head is starting to hert." He said holding his head.

At that moment the malls security came in and tried to take charge of the situation. The aliens knew that they had failed so they turned their guns on themselves. Jonathan watched them turn red and disappear.

David calmed the situation down with the guards and Steve walked out with Jonathan in tow.

Claira watched them.

"Uncle Steve.." She said hugging him.

"I'm alright darling, we're family. Where's my daughter?"

"Over there." She said pointing back.

"Thank you." He said as he kissed her then went to Sarah and held her.

David moved up to her.

"Hey, do I get a hug?"

She looked at him as she started to cry. "Daddy."

Jonathan watched them as they hugged.

"I guess someone has a lot of explaining to do." David said looking at her then Jonathan.

"Mr Vincent, I think that my parents are aliens."

Claira looked at him then her father then looked away.

EPILOGUE

That evening David drove Claira over to Jonathan's home to find the fire department there. Jonathan was outside trying to understand what had happened.

"Jonathan…" She said getting out.

"Claira!" He said calling her back.

She turned and moved back up to him.

David looked down for a moment then faced her.

"We knew that something like this was to be expected. They leave no trace… Jonathan has to accept this on his own." He said touching her face.

Claira stepped closer. "When my 'fake' parents disappeared in a flame of red, I wasn't on my own. Whether they we're my parents or not. Someone has to be there to pick up the pieces, don't they, dad?" She said then ran over to Jonathan looking at the burnt out remains of his parent's home.

"Jonathan." Claira said now drawing level with him.

He looked to his left.

"They've gone."

"They we're never here. Not really. It was the same for me, when my… You'll get over this, I have. You adjust." She said taking his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Adjust?" He said now releasing from her grip and slightly moving aside

Claira watched him for a while.

The fire department soon left and David walked in with Steve and Sarah behind them.

Claira noticed them coming up to them.

"Say uncle Steve, when your lot have a party you have a party, ha?" She said trying to lift every bodies spirits.

David looked at her then at Jonathan still trying to make some kind of sense out of it all.

"It's okay son… It's okay to grieve. They we're all you knew, all you had."

"Yeah, I mean it's not like you're the first and your not going to be the last. Look at Claira, she…." Sarah said stepping forward.

Steve grabbed her. "Erm, excuse my child, she's young and she comes out with some stupid things once in a while." Steve said putting his hand over her mouth.

"What…? Who me? Daddy, mmm." She said mumberling through Steve's tight grip.

Jonathan looked up at his hand and noticed the finger sticking out. David noticed him doing this and stepped up to him.

"There are some good aliens around. Maybe your parents we're only following orders."

"Yeah, just like my parents were." Claira said nodding.

"What did they want with me?"

"A way of getting to us."

"Ha?"

"They must have known that you were at school with Claira. They thought that they could get to our family by getting to you."

"To do what?"

"Destroy us from the inside. If they saw that Claira was falling for someone who was controlled by them, then they would have a way of destroying us." David said.

"Now, it doesn't matter, if I was falling for you, that is." She said looking at him.

"Are you?" Steve said.

"Uncle Steve.., is that a question to ask your niece?"

"Alright, then I'll ask. Are you falling for him?" He said stepping up to her.

She looked at her father then Jonathan.

"I don't know yet. Come back in a week or so. I'll let you know then." She said moving towards Jonathan and kissing him.

"Ooops, I think that that's our cue to leave, David." Steve said pulling him back.

"Yeah, erm, we'll be in the car if you need us, but I don't think you will."

They watched them walk out.

"You have a wonderful family."

"Why thank you. I can't say that it was all my own doing, but I'd like to think that I had a hand in it, here and there." She said smiling.

"Like fingers in the pie." Jonathan said looking at her.

"Hmmm, you could say that. As long as it's not the little finger." She said sticking out her little finger and waving it around.

"Oh no. No! Now that would never do." He said chucker ling to himself.

They both now laughed and Jonathan stepped forward to kiss then hug her.

RUN CREDITS 


	9. Chapter 9

**The Invaders**

**Just, Unjust**

The believers had received information of another alien landing near the Florida Keys, so they decided to send the Vincent's out to check up on the situation.

David decided to take Steve and Sarah on this investigation to make it a kind of family break.

"Have you ever been to the Keys before, Sarah?" Steve said looking back.

"Ha? She hasn't been east of Utah!" Claira said looking up.

"Well you certainly weren't born east of Kansas, Claira Vincent!" David said chipping in.

Claira was about to say something when she realised that Sarah and the others were already laughing.

"Har, har dad, very funny." She said jogging Sarah reading her comic.

"Hey, dad will you tell cousin Claira, she's jogging me while I'm trying to read my comic."

"Reading? Is that what you call it? Can you understand a full sentence yet?"

"Claira!" David said looking back.

"Did we have to bring the kids?" Steve said looking at David.

"If we didn't we would have been in world war three by now."

"Who says we're not already in the back seat?"

"True, very true."

They hit the eastbound traffic so decided to pull over to a restaurant for an early dinner.

"They're all coming out of Disney world."

"I've been there! But, I wouldn't…." Claira said looking back at the adults.

"Maybe next week if we're still here."

"I'm going to grab some information about the resort on it. Maybe we could get a hotel there."

"Hey, do you think we're made of money?"

They soon grabbed their trays for dinner and sat down.

"Hey, look cous, this is interesting." Sarah said showing her the magazine she had found.

"Wow yeah, great, Sarah."

"Maybe if we stayed nice towards our parents for the week we can get into the resort sometime."

Steve watched her. "Hey, bruv have you seen a pig flying across the sky lately?"

"Not lately, no."

Sarah looked at him.

They were soon bloated and they walked back to their car.

"The freeway looks empty now. We might get a straight run into the keys by midnight." David said watching the kids jump in the back. "I'll swing past the resort to keep the kids happy."

"Sucker. They're going to be asleep within the hour."

David drove off and headed down to the keys.

Steve was right, the children missed the Disney resort as it slipped past behind the trees and David soon drove into the keys and parked up.

"I'll try and get us some rooms." Steve said jumping out.

David looked back at the kids sleeping. Steve then runs back out.

"Two rooms four singles."

"That's lucky. How did you manage that this time of year?"

Steve looked at him.

"Ever since the town got word that we've had something strange going on around here the place has been deserted." Mr Stevens', the hotel manager said helping Steve and David in with their luggage.

"Right, that's the last one." Steve said checking the bags.

"You have children, you said?"

"Yes sir, two girls, my daughter Claira and my brothers' daughter, Sarah."

"Well, I hope that you enjoy your week here. I must say that you're like a breath of fresh air around here lately, since… Ah, why am I worrying? Disneyland is just up the coast and once all these rumours are quashed…."

David watched the man walk away.

"We better start out early tomorrow."

"After breakfast." Steve said.

"Oh well of course. Feed the army first."

They went into their rooms.

The morning soon came and they had their breakfast. Claira looked out over the everglades.

"It's beautiful this time of year."

"Hmm, full of colour." David said. "Are you finished with your breakfast?"

"Yes. That meal we had last night done me in, dad. All those courses."  
"That's what you get for being a tourist."

"In our own country? Now, if you were talking about Uncle Steve, I could understand."

David looked at her. "Do you want to join us today or do you want to spend the day in your room?"

"Sorry." She said looking down.

"That's better."

They were soon walking around the glades.

"Wasn't there something you were telling me about saucers that could survive under water?" David said looking out to the everglades.

"Certain specifications were on order when I left, yes, but they were drawing board stuff, nothing concrete and certainly not specific enough to survive this sort of depth."

"Crash landing?"

"That would be more plausible."

"Well, lets find something then."

They started to walk along the edge.

"We need to get out there. Hire one of the everglade boats.

They were soon out on the everglades surfing the waterways. They went into some dense area but couldn't find anything that would say that a saucer landed in the area.

David turned back and was starting to head back when Claira noticed a hut on the far bank.

"I thought the hotel owner said that the place was deserted after the scare."

"He did." David said cutting the engines as the boat hit the bank. "Stay there."

Claira watched him move up the back to the hut.

Steve now pulled up besides them in his boat.

"What gives?"

"The smoke from that hut."

"Hmm, interesting." He said jumping onto the bank.

"Uncle Steve…" Claira said getting worried.

"Hey, your okay. If anything happens jump on my boat and hit the throttle and head back to the hotel. You understand, kids?"

"We understand, dad." Sarah said looking on.

They watched him head towards the hut.

David moved around the hut and found the door to be open. He moved in and noticed the stove that was making the smoke outside.

Steve now walked in.

"Hey!"

He spun round.

"Steven, Jesus!"

"Easy bruv. What have you got?"

"What you see. Someone's defiantly living here."

"You'd be right Mr Vincent, some one is living here. Why don't you join me?"

David and Steve stared at the alien holding their trademark weapon.

Claira looked out along the glade to see a small boat approach.

"Quick cus, get on to the bank now!"

"But, dad…"

"Forget your dad, there's a boat heading this way."

They now dived on to the bank and hid in the undergrowth.

The boat parked up next to theirs and they watched as a child now jumped off the boat and looked around.

Claira noticed her hands.

"An alien."  
"Hurh?"

"She's an alien. An alien kid, I don't… it can't be."

"They start off like us?"

They watched her head towards the hut.

"She's heading to the hut."

"Dad and Uncle David… She'll see them."

Claira froze, as she couldn't get her head around the situation at that point.

The child ran to the hut.

"Dad, theirs two other glade boats out there." The alien child said running in and going to her father.

"I know. They belong to these two. The Vincent's."

"The Vincent's?" The alien child said stepping forward. "Then that means their children must be around here too."

"Are they?" The adult alien asked.

"Yes. We left them at the bank." Steve said looking at the child.

"You can't have, the boats were empty. They, they must have seen me coming. I'm going out to take another look."

"Wait."

"Dad, we can't wait, if there out there then we have to get to them and quick."

"What about a gun?"

"Gun? Oh yeah, yeah, a gun." She said going to her father and grabbing another gun off him.

"Catcha later."

They watched her run out.

The alien now looked at David and Steve.

"Don't tell me, she reminds you of your two?"

"An alien child. Very impressive."

"Impressive, yes because she was conceived after you left us. We knew that you would end up helping them so we needed a new way of dealing with you."

"You mean get to me because I now feel like them? Look who killed Sarah's parents just to make everything look so clean."

"How many more of them are planned?" David asked.

"Oh, more than you can imagine. Children are so vulnerable, aren't they?"

David looked at Steve then outside and thought of the children.

The child walked back to the boats and looked around.

"Hello!"

Claira watched her through the trees.

"Claira?" Sarah said behind her.

"Shooosh!"

The child turned round.

"Where are you Claira? I know that we can be friends. Like your friends with Steve O'Brien."

"Dad?" Sarah said jumping up.

"Get down!"

The child now noticed them.

"Hi."

Claira stared at her.

She moved forward.

"That's far enough!"

"Alright, but don't you want to come into the hut? Your parents are there."

Claira looked through the trees to the hut then looked back to the child who was now pointing an alien gun at her.

"Claira." Sarah said grabbing her hand.

She looked down at her hand in hers. She now moved forward and moved towards the hut.

They walked in and noticed the adult alien and then their parents.

"Dad!" They both said as they run to their side.

"Mission accomplished, dad." She said going to the adult alien.

They stared at her.

"What do you want with us now that you've got us all together?" David asked watching them.

"Well, now, we all go back to the hotel and we get checked in as Doug and Annette Powell." He said grabbing the alien child and hugging her.

Claira looked at them then looked at David.

"Steve can then contact the bureau and tell them that they have two new human members to join the ever growing ranks of the believers." The alien said grabbing the rings and handing one to his child.

Claira jumped forward.

" Your mad, he wont do that, he's my uncle!"

"An alien that can die with one burst from this gun, Miss Vincent." He said grabbing the gun.

David pulled her back and moved forward.

"Your right, he is an alien but, this alien has something that you could never have or even obtain from whatever or whoever made you."

They looked at Sarah burying her head into Steve.

"Love means nothing to you. You can't show love the way we can. You'll be found out along with those rings."

"Eventually, but by that time we will have accomplished more than could have been achieved with conventional methods."

"Dad, we're wasting time."

"Alright, let me just get the provisions."

They watched him moved back and open a case.

"It looks like your not so twenty first century as your off spring." Steve said noticing the tubes.

"The crash was rather more energy consuming than predicted."

"They can only get so much accomplished in the short time I've been away, ha?"

"We're growing Mr O'Brien, growing everyday."

"That's Vincent, Steve Vincent." He said staring at him.

The child grabbed the gun.

Steve looked at it.

"Annette! What do you intend to do with that gun? We need him."

She looked back then dropped the gun.

They left the hut and loaded up the boats and were soon on their way back to the hotel.

Claira watched the child as they drove back.

"Your ship…."

Annette looked back.

"What about it?"

"Is it in the glades?"

"What's left of it, yes. We took in water the second we landed. My dad did his best to keep her afloat, you can see what it did to him."

"Your dad? You're an alien, you can't have parents, you're a…."

Annette moved forward.

"I'm a, what, Claira?"

She looked away.

"Don't push me Claira, I know all about you. They let me read your files, all your files. What was it like having alien parents, Claira?"

Claira moved closer to David and hid her head.

"Daddy."

"That is enough, Annette!"

David looked back then at Steve.

"I wouldn't think about trying something back at the hotel either. The place has had a big enough scare as it is. Our transition into the human race has been well planned." He said looking at Steve and David.

They pulled up outside the hotel. Annette jumped out.

"Bags I get the best room in the hotel." She said running in.

Steve looked back at Doug as he got out. He held his head.

"I have to get to my room and…." He now collapsed.

Steve grabbed him.

"Uncle Steve, what are you doing? He's dying, let him go!"

"Claira, this is a scared town. If they see him burn up out here the place will be sectioned for the rest of the season. David, help me get him up to our room."

"What about Annette?" David said grabbing the alien.

"Kids, go check on her. Keep her busy while we slip past."

"Uncle Steve?"

"Claira, you heard your uncle, now go. Take your cousin."

They watched them run off.

David looked at Steve.

"I hope you know what your doing Steven."

"No, I don't, not yet anyway. But we have to stop him getting to the bureau. That's one thing we do know."

Annette found herself in the lobby looking at the pictures of Disneyland. Claira and Sarah moved up behind her.

" I thought that I'd stay out of the way for a while. My dad is not known for his patience when it comes to dealing with human mundane things."

Claira looked back to see Steve and David carrying her father in.

They went up to Steve's room where he checked him over.

"His lungs are flooded. It's seeping into his original body. I need to get some kind of drain in."

Doug now woke up.

"What, what is going on?"

"You collapsed outside. How much water did you take in?"

"What do you care?"

"I'm still an alien. I know what we can survive with and without on in regards to this planet. Now, are you going to tell me or I can't help you."

"Can't or wont?"

"Your choice." Steve said moving to the window.

He looked around.

"Annette, where is she?"

"Downstairs with the kids. You want her up here?" Steve said looking at him.

"No, I…."

They now watched him starting to glow red.

David moved forward.

"Steve…"

"I can't do anything brother, the regeneration has run it's course. His lungs are collapsing."

They stared at him.

Annette moved through the lobby to the entrance.

"They must already be upstairs. What room are you in?"

"Ha?" Claira said looking at her.

"Your room, what room do you have here?"

"Erm," She looked at the stairs.

"Doesn't matter. I bet you're the only ones here." She said running towards the stairs.

"Wait!"

"No time."

"Claira, what are we going to do?" Sarah asked.

"Try and cut her off. Come on."

They ran after her.

"Annette!"

"What?" She said knocking on the doors.

"How about we go back downstairs and check on some more Disneyland pictures?"

"Later. Which room has my dad taken?"

She now opened all the doors checking if they looked lived in.

"That sounds like the kids." David said heading towards the door.

Annette now burst through the door just as the alien died.

They all stared at him burn up and disappear.

Annette now rushed forward screaming.

"Dad, daddy."

Steve picked her up.

"That's enough!"

"You killed him, you killed my dad!"

"He was already dying. The crash in the glades killed him, but he saved you, didn't he?"

Annette looked at the ashes on the bed where her father once lay.

"Daddy."

David went to Claira who was still staring at the bed.

"Claira, lets get you back to your room."

"But, but the alien!" She said pointing.

"It's alright. Steve, do you want me to take Sarah?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Sure."

Steve watched them lead the two children out then looked at Annette.

"You've never seen us die on earth?"

She shook her head.

"For what it's worth Annette, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You're sorry? We had plans, the bureau; we were going to do so many things. Dad said we'd go to Disneyland. Claira and Sarah were showing me the pictures."

"We're going to Disneyland, maybe you'd like to come with us."

"With you? You, you'd hand me over to the bureau where they'll, they'll…."

"Oh, so that one is still going around back home ha? Well, I thought that at first but I look perfectly normal don't I and I collaborate with the bureau, with 'humans'. My daughter is one of them, or haven't you noticed that?"

Annette looked at him.

"It's not a dirty word, Annette. What your father was planning to do was wrong. They would have got to him and then they would have probably used him to destruction because of his plans. It's much better to work with them than against them."

Sarah paced the floor in David's room.

"Sarah, you'll wear the man's carpet out in a minute."

"My dad is in there with, with one of them, Uncle David and…"

"Uncle Steve is one of them Sarah, or haven't you noticed that lately."

"Claira, that's enough, the both of you. Let Steve handle this, alright."

"You trust him? An alien to, to…?" She said pointing to the door.

"I trust him to what? Betray us? He's family Claira, how many more times do you need to be reminded of that?"

She looked away.

"I can't wait any longer, that's my dad she's got in there."

"Sarah!"

They ran after her.

Sarah burst through the door.

"You're not going to change him. He's my dad and your not going to take him back!"

"Sarah, what are you talking about? Claira, have you been filling my daughters head with your talk again?"

"No, uncle Steve, I…"

"She's going to use you dad, don't listen to her."

Annette and Sarah now went for one another.

"I've got Sarah." David said pulling her away.

"I've got Annette." Steve said moving back.

Claira looked at him.

"Have you, Uncle Steve, got her?" She said now looking at the way he was holding her.

Sarah and Claira now ran out.

"Kids." Steve said getting up.

"Don't, Steve, leave them." He said then looked at Annette being held by him.

They soon had dinner. The setting was like a scene out of the civil war with the two aliens on one side of the table and the three humans on the other.

Claira watched Annette as they tucked in.

"What's the matter Claira, haven't you seen an alien eat before? Oh yeah you have, your parents, your uncle sitting next to me, here."

"Annette, that's enough." Steve said cooling the situation down.

Sarah and Claira soon finished and ran out to the open play area.

"I think someone should call the bureau and let them know what's been going on around here. We'll be pulling out of here in the morning."

"Yeah, erm, alright."

David stopped him.

"The bureau will handle this Steve, if you let them know what's happened.

"What has happened David. I don't even know myself anymore." He said walking away.

Annette sat on the steps to the hotel and looked out onto the glades. She heard the children playing and moved over to the gardens and watched them.

They now noticed her and stared at her.

"Come on Sarah, we can play back in my room." Claira said moving past her.

"Claira?"

She stopped.

"Can, can I come?"

She looked at her then Sarah. They now walked off with Annette in tow.

Steve was on the phone when he noticed the children run in and up the stairs.

"Hey, where are you all going?"

"Up to my room. Is that alright, Uncle Steve?"

He looked at her then Annette.

"Sure." He said smiling. "Claira!"

She stepped back.

"Yes, Uncle Steve?"

"Thanks." He said then kissed her.

She looked at him then ran off.

The next day they packed away and got ready to leave. The manager followed them out as the kids came rushing past and jumped into the back.

"Don't tell me, Disneyland next stop for your family, yes?" The manager said.

David looked at him then Steve who was watching the kids jostle for a space in the back.

"Well, we did promise them, hey, bruv?" David said breaking his concentration.

"Oh yes."

"I know that it's probably none of my business but, didn't you just arrive with the two children yesterday? The manager asked looking at the children.

David looked at Steve.

"We did, yes, but we made one over night. It's amazing what technology can do in this day and age." Steve said laughing then moving towards the car.

The manager looked at David.

"Excuse my brother. You can tell that he's the youngest in the family." He said then left the manager in a puzzled state as he reached the car.

"Hey, who's driving?" Steve asked.

"You are. I drove all the way here, didn't I?" He said throwing him the keys.

"Great!"

"Hey!"

"What?" He said looking over the roof.

"No red lights."

"Red lights? Me, bruv, green is more my colour."

They started laughing then got in and pulled away onto the freeway.

They arrived at Disneyland and enjoyed themselves. They were soon got hungry and walked around with their hot dogs.

David and Steve sat down at a table watching the children.

"Did you call the bureau?"

"Erm, yeah, I did."  
"And?"

"And, I made them aware that we had intercepted two aliens after their space ship had crashed landed in the everglades. The ship wasn't equipped to withstand the force of the crash and both aliens burned up within seconds of going under water."

David looked at him.

"A-ha."

"What? Was that not what you would have said?"

"I wasn't making the report, was I?"

"No, you weren't." He said finishing his dog and walking away.

David followed him.

Steve stopped and looked at him.

"What? I thought that some of these rides are also for adults to enjoy with their kids. Are you joining us, bruv?"

"No thanks. I think that I'll sit this one out."

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting. Your too old."

David watched him.

"Come on kids, race you to the next ride."

Steve grabbed the children and ran off.

David sat down watching them have fun.

Claira soon sat one ride out and ran back to David.

"Come on daddy, why aren't you joining in?"

"Well, you were having so much fun with your uncle, I didn't want to spoil it."

"Yeah, I know. Uncle Steve is great." She said looking back.

"Hmm, he's good for the three of you, ha?"

She looked at him.

"Three?"

David pulled her towards him.

"I think that you can understand what is happening. You saw it with Sarah."

Claira now sat down beside him.

"But daddy, Annette is an alien, she…."

"Who can't help reminding everyone that her uncle Steve is an alien?"  
"Yeah, I know daddy but, but uncle Steve is family."

David now pointed out to Steve with Sarah and Annette.

"Our family."

She watched them then slowly nodded.

David now hugged her.

"Do you know what?"  
"What?"

"Maybe I will join you on a ride. Race you to the next one."

"Your on."

They now jumped up and ran off.

THE END


	10. Chapter 10

**The Invaders**

**Christmas Time Is Here Again**

Christmas was upon the Earth again. This year David had managed to get the time off from work and the bureau that he needed so that he could spend it with Claira making the farmhouse look very festive.

Steve O'Brien walked up the long path towards the house with Sarah somewhere in tow.

Claira looked out from the window to see them coming.

"Dad, it's Steve and Sarah coming up from their mobile home."

"Yes, thank you Claira, I do know where they are staying at the moment. Once the work is finished on the cottage down the lane they will be moving in and they will become our first neighbours." He said handing her up another ball for the big Christmas tree that now filled the corner of their living room.

Claira looked at him.

"An alien as a neighbour, it seems hard to envisage at the moment."

"Hey, who wanted him, erm, how did you put it, 'as close as possible' to us. Last month?"

"I know, but… the bureau did…."

There was now a knock at the door.

"Are you going to get that?" He said looking up at her.

"Ha? Half way up the ladder? Dad?"

"Alright, I can take a hint."

He now moved out to the kitchen door and opened it.

"Good morning sir, we are two lonely travellers bearing gifts of food and whiskey if you can slip away from the kid for half an hour." Steve said laughing as he walked in.

Claira stared at him through the runners of the ladder.

Steve now noticed her.

"There she is, Miss Vincent the child of the family." He said moving to look at her from the other side of the runners. "Good morning darling, and how are we today?"

"Fine, is the whiskey for me, too?"

"Claira!" David said as Sarah now walked in.

"Hello David."

"Sarah." He said then closed the door behind her.

Steve walked back to the kitchen table.

"Do you want me to open this now before it gets thrown down the waste chute?"

David grabbed two glasses and watched Steve pour.

Sarah went straight to Claira and watched her up the ladder.

"Haven't you finished that yet?"

"Well, no, you see we don't live in a mobile home, we have a farmhouse, a rather large farmhouse." She said looking down.

"Is that so? Well, we have a large cottage, it's just that the roof is not yet waterproofed so we can't exactly take up residence yet." She said folding her arms.

"Waterproofed? Sarah, you could saucer watch from your bedroom ceiling. The whole house is in need of some serious renovating. I can't see why the bureau can't find you a place further away, like say…." She looked around.  
"The moon? That's getting good reviews lately. What was it, back in the sixties? One small step for man…?" Steve said watching her from the kitchen.

"One more for the aliens to conquer, yes, I've heard all that." Claira said looking at him.

Steve now turned to look at David who was trying to savour the taste of the whiskey on his lips.

They let the situation cool down as the kids ran out to play.

"At least it's not snowing. The house couldn't stand anything else on its rafters. I've been up there all night sorting out the rest of the slates."

"It snowed here bad last year."

"Oh, I'm sorry I missed that one. Sarah would have loved it, that's all she's talking about at the moment. She noticed a few Christmas cards with the festive motif on it."

David jumped up and moved to the back of the kitchen.

"I've got to think about getting the provisions ready. Are you interested in staying over for Christmas?"

"We'd love to. I must say that it would be better than a draftee old bus! What have you got planned for Christmas Eve?"

David stopped and looked at him as he reminded himself of last Christmas.

"Do you know, this is the first Christmas I've managed to get off from work and the damn bureau in four years. Four years of my daughters life on the road searching for…" He looked at him.

Steve jumped off his stool and handed him another glass of whiskey.

"Look, David, if I could change things I would in an instant. Claira means the world to you and come to think of it Sarah means as much to me, but…."

"But, what?"

"They've put you through a lot."

"Yeah, 'you' sure have." He said putting his glass down.

Steve looked at him. "Maybe I should collect Sarah and the bottle and just go, ha?"

David stopped him. "Sit down, I think maybe you should know something."

He looked at him then sat back down.

David looked at his half empty glass of whiskey and topped it up. He offered the bottle to Steve but he gracefully declined watching him all the way.

David now swallowed the light brown liquid in his glass and looked at him.

"Along with this being the first Christmas that I've managed to get away from work and the bureau, this happens to be the first Christmas after Claira watched an alien die right in front of her." He said looking at him.

Steve looked at him. "You know what, maybe I will have that glass now." He said grabbing the bottle.

"Claira, is some how convinced that it was Santa Claus that burned up in front of her last year, not just some meaningless alien looking to get to us by any ways and means that they can."

"Santa Claus? You, you erm, did tell her that he doesn't exist, didn't you?"

"I didn't need to. Her parents did that part for me, some years before, when she was five. Up until last year she never believed in Father Christmas."

"So, what happened so dramatically that made her believe differently?"

David grabbed the bottle and moved around the work unit.

"Claira just happened to witness one of you lose your fading regeneration processes then burn up and die."  
"Hmm, I see, grow old, glow red and disappear?"

"In that precise order, yeah."

"And Claira took that process to be Santa Claus?"

"Well, it wasn't just that that convinced her, there was more contributing factors, such as the alien speaking to her as he died. Her father telling her that if Santa Claus really did exist that he would know all of us, every child on this planet, etc…"

"Except meaning that he knows all of the believers and the bureau like all aliens are supposed to?"

"Exactly." He said then turned away.

"You've got a problem on your hands tomorrow night." He said looking at him.

"I know that I should say something to her, to reassure her, help her make everything clearer for her, but what happened last year has just got to me lately. Steve, when she was explaining to me about what had happened to her, it was like, Jesus, it was like I had just met her for the first time and that she meant nothing to me at that point. Like I was just some stupid reporter investigating the sightings and not her father. I don't want that to happen ever again, this year or any other year. She's my daughter and at the moment she's all I live for." He said looking at him.

Steve got up and moved to him.

"So, what are you going to do about this?"

He looked at him.

"I don't know. Play it by ear, I guess, what else can I do? See what comes of Christmas Eve at home and if she needs me, she wants to talk, I'm going to be right there for her."

"As a reporter? Steve said looking at him

"As a father!"

Steve now nodded. "That sounds like the best thing a father can do."

David watched him pour out another glass.

On Christmas Eve, David started to prepare the turkey.

"Wow, one big turkey, dad."

"One big family. Don't forget, we have Steve and Sarah this year."

She looked down.

"I guess that Sarah will be putting out a mince pie for Santa this year."

David looked up.

"Erm, yeah, probably."

"It's not fair dad, I've met him and Sarah is closer to the main road than us. Santa is obviously going to be stuffed bigger than that turkey before he gets to us. He wont even have space for one pie, let alone two." She said moving away.

He watched her go as he wiped his hands on the towel.

Later that evening, David walked in to the kitchen to check on the turkey. He moved to the light and turned it on.

There in front of him on the table sat one mince pie with a letter besides it. He now picked it up and reached for the pie. He munched on the pie as he read the letter.

"Dear Santa Claus, my name is Claira Vincent. I thought that I'd write to you personally to apologise for not believing in you up until last year. I now know that you really do exist and that my dad was right about how you would know all of us, how you would know every single child you deliver to each year. I knew that I had to write to you and tell you that I really do believe in you, Santa.

_I have left you one mince pie because my friend, Sarah Whitten, that's the girl who lives in that small mobile home down the lane, has also left you one mince pie and maybe you might be a little full what with all the other mince pies you might be eating tonight. I hope that she gets the chance to meet you like I did last year. She lives with an alien, but he's a nice alien, if you can have a nice alien, that is._

_Anyway, I must end this letter now. All I wanted was just to let you know that I do believe in you Santa and I'm sorry that I didn't up until last year. Merry Christmas Santa, your best friend, Claira Vincent."_

David looked up from the letter and thought of Claira as he folded up the letter and placed the half eaten pie back on the plate.

He now headed to the oven and checked on the turkey.

Claira cautiously moved through the living room and into the kitchen.

"Daddy?" She said rubbing her eyes.

He now jumped up holding the pan with the turkey sitting in it.

"Claira! Do you know what time it is? Damn, that's hot!" He said putting the pan onto the stove.

She looked at him then back to the clock on the wall.

"Erm, yeah."

"You should be in bed young lady."

"I couldn't sleep. You know, Christmas…."

He looked at her then remembered the half eaten pie.

"Erm, oh yeah, yeah." He said attempting to move the evidence out of the way.

"Is the turkey ready to eat?"

"Nearly. I'll slow cook it through the rest of tomorrow."

Claira now looked at the table.

"Santa Claus!" She said then ran to the back door and opened it.

He watched her go.

"Claira! Close the door, it's cold out there."

"The pie, dad, it's half eaten. I knew he wouldn't have space to eat it all. You wait till I see Sarah in the morning. She must have left out two." She said closing the door and leaning up against it.

He grabbed the pie.

"What if Santa Claus didn't eat it and I did, instead, ha?" He said finishing it off.

She looked at him. "Then there's still time. He hasn't arrived yet, so I can still catch him this year, like I did last…"

David watched her grab another pie and place it on the plate next to the letter.

"Claira, wait a minute, will you!"

She did as she was told, sat down at the table and watched David put the turkey back in to the oven and then move up to the table and sat down facing her. He now watched her rearrange the letter on the table and smiling as she remembered what she had written.

He now stopped her and took her hand. She looked at him.

"You're hoping to catch Santa again this year, ha?"

She looked away.

"You, you read my letter."

"Well, you didn't exactly go out of your way to hide it." He said looking around.

She looked down.

"Claira, I'm not going to start chewing you out here. I think that the letter is nicely written and it really shows you care…."

"But," She said now looking at him.

He looked at her then got up and moved to the worktop and turned round to face her.

"I need to know that what I'm going to say you will understand."

"I know what you're going to say, dad. It's written all over your face. Santa Claus, he doesn't exist, right?"

He nodded.

Claira stared at him then jumped up.

"Well, your wrong dad, I saw him, last year! He spoke to me, he knew me! Me, Claira Vincent, that's me dad and he said that he knew you, knew all of us. He probably even knows Steve and Sarah."  
"Of course he knew all of us because they have been made aware of us, the aliens have been made aware of us because of the fret we mean towards them. Not because we sit at the end of our bed every Christmas Eve hoping to catch a glimpse of his reindeer or even the man himself. Claira, Santa Claus only exists as a fable, a story, just like your parents originally told you. You have to understand that before, before you can ever go on."

"Santa Claus is real! My dad told me so and you, he, can't change that." She said running out back to her bedroom.

David looked back at the letter on the table then grabbed his coat and ran out of the farmhouse down the lane to the mobile home.

He knocked on the door and Steve soon opened it.

"David. Erm, isn't this a little bit late for a social call?"

"It's not social. I need your help Steve or I'm going to lose my kid if not."

He stared at him.

"Look, come outside for a moment, Sarah's only through there and she'd find any excuse to stay up tonight, what with Santa flying around." He said leading him out.

David stopped and looked at him.

"Will you lighten up? That was a joke!"

"I need your help, Steven."

"Well, what can I do?"

"You have a regeneration tube in the cottage, yes?"

He stopped and stared at him.

"Oh no, not you!"

"Have you got a better idea?"

"David, you go in their Claira will lose you, permanently, do you want that?"

"I've been in one before."

"When?"

"Some years ago. They put me in there to try and kill me. The effects took their time to wear off, but I think that we can manipulate it enough to make Claira think that I am Santa Claus so that I can talk to her."

"You can't risk the damage it could do to your body."

"I have no other choice."

Steve looked at him.

"David, I haven't known you long, but, but what your doing is suicidal."

"I'd do anything to save my kid."

They walked to the tube.

David looked at it.

"Can you work it that it can give me a low enough charge to produce the same effects as a dying alien?"

Steve looked at him then turned away.

David watched him then moved up to him.

"Steve, my kid is convinced that she saw Santa Claus last year. I have to do this."

He nodded. "Alright, step into the chamber. I've calculated it to a half hour cycle, if you go over that, David, I can't help you."

He stared at him.

"Go for it." He said as the door closed behind him.

"Good luck, bro." He said throwing the switch as David fell to the floor in pain.

David now got back to his feet as he started to grow old and glow red as the radiation moved through his body.

Steve now turned the dial to zero and the door opened. He reached in and pulled him out.

"Alright, go save your daughter. The clock is ticking."

David now ran out.

Claira sat in her bed looking out to the dense blackness of the sky. She now heard a noise from the kitchen and ran out to find out what was going on.

"Hello? Dad? Is that you?"

She turned the corner to the kitchen and noticed the red glow around the room. She moved forward and now noticed a figure 'Santa Claus'. She stepped back to feel the fridge handle hit her in the side.

"Dam, owwh!"

The figure now turned round.

Claira noticed that Santa Claus was reading her letter and eating the mince pie.

"Well, good morning, Miss Vincent."

"Santa Claus? She said as he finished the pie and put the letter down. "It is you, isn't it?" She said now moving forward to the table.

He nodded. "It's me, child."

"I knew it and dad said that you didn't exist. Last year and now this year, this is great. You wait till I tell Sarah, she is going to be gutted, unless you've already been to her."

"No, I've only come here especially to talk with you."

Claira stepped forward and watched him glow.

"After reading your letter I feel that it's best that we do not meet anymore. This will be the last time you will be seeing me in this form, Claira…."

"Hurh, no, you exist, Santa, did you come with the reindeer this time or did they give you another space ship?" Claira said going to the door.

David now fell to the floor in pain.

She looked back.

"Santa?"

"I haven't got much time left, Claira. They didn't give me long."

She looked down.

"I understand, Santa"

She said looking down.

"It would be best if I only existed to you up here," He said moving to her and touching her head. "We have met for the last time, Claira and I'm sorry for any problems that I may have caused you."

"Santa, you have not caused any problems, I know your exist now. I don't have to worry anymore."

"I exist to you now only in your mind, your dreams, just like every other child believes in me."

Claira looked at him and nodded.

David now grimaced again.

"Santa?"

"It's time, I must, must go."  
"I understand."

"Do you? I need to know that you do, child."

She nodded.

He smiled. "You're going to be okay Claira." He said moving to the door.

"Santa, look!" She said pointing to the corner of the room.

He turned round to see all the presents under the Christmas tree.

"Thank you Santa." She said running to them.

David stared at them just as Steve grabbed him and dragged him back to the cottage and into the tube.

"You do know that you're just in time. A second more and… I don't even want to think it." He said pressing the buttons to return David back to normal.

He now walked and out of the chamber and checked that he was okay then went to Steve.

"Thanks." He said shaking his hand.

"My pleasure."

"I, I have to get back. Make everything appear normal."

"Go! Get the hell out of my chamber!" He said smiling as David left.

Steve watched him go then looked at the chamber and walked into it.

The next morning Claira rocking him soon awaked David.

"Dad, dad, daddy?"

"Not so load, I have one mother of a hangover."

"Did you go over to Steve's last night?

"I did yes."

"What did you do? Get drunk again?"

"Amongst other things." He said focusing in on her. "Good morning baby." He said grabbing her to give her a big hug.

"Merry Christmas daddy."

"Oh yeah, now I remember."

"You remember? Dad, are you getting forgetful in your old age?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by old age darling, I mean last night I felt so old, I," He looked at her. "Never mind. That's forever my little secret." He said kissing her. "Have you been out to the living room, yet?" He added watching her bubbling with excitement.

"Erm, yeah I have, I, erm," She stopped and looked at him.

"What's the matter?"

"Dad, last night… Santa Claus was here. He came here to the farmhouse. He left us all those presents, come and have a look." She said dragging him out.

He looked at the tree and scratched his head.

"It wasn't a dream, but how? I didn't have time to…."

Claira went to the tree then turned round and went back up to David.

"Santa said that he wouldn't be coming back to see me anymore. He told me that he had to exist only in my mind like he does to all the other children on Earth."  
"That's very wise of him."

"Yeah I know and I kind a guess that he's right. It's only fair."

David stepped forward.

"You figured that out all by yourself, ha?"

She nodded.

"That's very brave of you, child. I'm proud of you." He said kissing her.

Claira now went back to the presents while David got dressed and carried on with the Christmas dinner.

EPILOG

Later that day after the children had worn the adults out playing, they all sat down in front of the fire. The children soon fell asleep. David watched Claira sleeping.

"I can't thank you enough for what you've done, Steve. You've saved Christmas for this family."  
"As I told you last night, it was my pleasure. I would do anything for Claira and you, for that matter."

He looked at him. "Oh yeah, that reminds me, I didn't say thanks for putting the presents under the tree for me. With all that was going on last night I had completely forgotten about them."

Steve looked at him.

"Presents? I didn't put the presents under your tree. I was busy just trying to keep mine upright in the bus. I gave up in the end…"

"Wait a minute, if you didn't put the presents under the tree, then who did?"

They looked at one another then jumped up and looked outside.

"Can't see any hoof markings, or any sign that a sleigh was parked here."

"Any carbon deposits?" David said looking at him.

"David, come on. Santa Claus in a saucer…"

"After last year, anything is possible." He said looking at him.

They now checked the floor for any sign.

"Maybe…." Steve said looking at him.

"Just maybe." David said now looking up to the sky as a shooting star flew past.

THE END


	11. Chapter 11

**The Invaders**

**Alien Presence**

The bureau were now fully established on the internet and was collecting and amassing a very large database of sightings, information and details on how to recognise an alien if you happen to encounter one.

David had set up a computer in his den so that he could keep in contact with the bureau every day.

Claira came home one such day and moved in to the den to find David hovering over the consul checking the emails.

He now noticed her and stepped back.

"Oh, hi darling." He said kissing her.

"Am I interrupting?"

"Interrupting what? Another mass of non-intelligent information from the bureau website? No, I don't think you could ever interrupt that." He said grabbing the mouse.

"What's the email saying today, then?"

"Nothing, as usual. A fake sighting in California, another one in Washington DC, very sporadic."

Claira read on.

"You have one here from North Dakota." She said grabbing the mouse.

"Ah, more farmland. If I see one more cow I think I'll go mad."

Claira looked back at him.

"Erm, you didn't hear that."

She went back to the computer.

"It says here that they had a landing there last week and this kid, Sarah witnessed it with her parents."

"Usual response. Categorize it, date it, and file it. Move on. What's next?"

"But, this is interesting, the saucer landed right near there out-house."

"Precision landing. We've seen that before from them." He said grabbing his cup and plate from earlier. "Have you had anything to eat?"

Claira looked at him.

"Dad, this could be worth checking out. This kid, erm, Sarah, she goes in to great detail about the saucer, what's been going on up there lately. It's not that far, as you said, it's farmland, like home."

David looked at the screen then shook his head.

"Claira, I'm too busy this week. I have that scraper to work on in New York…"

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting, the ones the aliens missed. Well, that's definitely more interesting than saving the Earth from them." She said closing down the computer and going out.

David watched her leave.

The next morning the phone rang early. David moved to the kitchen phone and answered it.

Claira walked out from her bedroom and grabbed the cereal bowl. David now watched her move in and clicked his fingers to attract her attention.

"Pen and paper."

She looked at him then grabbed the paper and pen and moved up to him. He grabbed it from her and threw it onto the worktop and started to scribble.

"North Dakota?"

Claira now looked up and hung round him like a hungry puppy.

He carried on talking to the bureau for a while which sort of calmed the situation a little. Claira went back to making her breakfast.

Finally he put the phone down and placed the pad under Claira's nose.

"Two nights ago the saucer landed right inside there out-house. We have been asked to check out the site and the owners of the farm."

"The owners? You mean they could be aliens?"

"We'll soon find out."

"I'm going to grab some more information about the site from the web." She said jumping up and running into the den.

Within the hour they were on their way to North Dakota.

"The child that wrote to us is Sarah Whitten and she is seven years old. Hey that's two years younger than me."

"Correct."

"And two years older than I was when I saw my first landing."

"That's correct too."

"I wonder what she's like." She said looking at the information.

"Well, we'll soon find out."

They drove towards the farm.

David pulled up by the house.

"Alright, I better let them know I'm here. Are you alright hanging around here for a while?"

"If I must."

David smiled, kissed her then got out and went to the house.

Claira looked around from the safety of her fathers' car. She then noticed a child and decided to get out and move up to her.

"Hello." The child said moving up to her.

"Hi."

"Who are you?" The child asked.

"My name is Claira, Claira Vincent."

"Claira…? You're the one I wrote to."

"Your Sarah Whitten?"

"The very same."

"Claira." David said behind her.

She spun round.

"Hurh, dad, this is Sarah, she wrote to us about…"

"I know. I've just met her parents. Hello, Sarah."

"Mr Vincent."

"You can call him David. We might be here some time by all accounts." Claira said looking at him then Sarah.

"Your parents thought that it would be a good idea if you showed us the grounds." He said looking at Sarah.

"Sure, come on."

They finally came to the out-house.

"This is where it all happens, ha?" David said walking in.

"Yes. The back was destroyed in the last tornado. Dad is going to hire somebody to work on it unless another tornado doesn't get to it first."

"I guess that's how they can get in here and land so easily. The place is baron, out of the way of the house."

"But, there is a single track road up here so, they have easy access to get cars in here."

Claira said looking back.

"I did see a car up here last week. A black sedan." Sarah said.

Claira looked at her then David.

"Lets take a look around ha? We might pick up carbon deposits."

They looked around.

Sarah stayed with Claira.

"Tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"  
"Well, when I contacted the bureau who then put me in contact with your dad they told me that you have been searching for aliens for nigh on four years now."

"Yes, that's true."

"Don't you think that you'd be getting somewhere by now? I mean that bureau's website, it's full of…."

Claira stared at her.

"My father and I helped create the bureau, although the website is believer based it still has some interesting facts held on it."

"Yeah, like?"

"Like how to recognise and alien. Have you ever met any of these aliens that come down in these saucers that you witness landing out here?"

"No."

"Why don't you just hang around here one night, you might just catch a glimpse of one and you'd be very surprised at what you'd see."

"Don't tell me, they have two heads and three arms, like that character out of The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy, yes?"

"No! Their like you and me."

"Hurh?"

"You heard me. They look perfectly acceptable to us, except…" She now walked off.

Sarah followed.

"Except what? Claira, what is it?"

She stopped and turned back.

"They have a mutated fourth finger on one hand, sometimes both hands." She said touching her hand.

"Well, Sarah, now that you know what they look like you can stay with your parents tonight while we wait out here." David said looking at Claira as he moved up to her.

She looked away.

"No, I want to see these aliens up close."

"Your parents wouldn't like that. Your too young."

"How old was your daughter when she saw her first alien?"

Claira looked at her then David.

"She was five, but that has nothing to do with this…."

"It has everything to do with this Mr Vincent… Why do you think the bureau was set up for? The website tells you how to recognise an alien… This is my home, Mr Vincent."

"Alright, have it your way." He said moving away.

Claira watched him go then looked at Sarah who was standing there contentedly. She now walked through the out-house and looked at the burnt edges where a saucer had landed in the past.

Sarah's parents layed on dinner for the Vincent's then they retired to their car and settled in for a nights watch.

Sarah came out in her nightgown and crossed the compound to David's car.

Claira watched her run up to them and climb into the back.

"Hi"

"Hi." Claira said looking around.

"Who's got first watch?"

"I have. Do your parents know you're out here?" David asked looking back.

"Of course. They just sent me out here to make sure everything was alright."

"Everything is fine Sarah, thank you. Tell your mother that it was very nice of her to make us dinner."

"I shall pass on your comments."

The car fell silent for a moment as they all looked outside.

"They wont be here yet."

"Sarah!" Claira said nearly jumping out of her skin.

"Sorry, I'm just…."

"Yes, we know Sarah, we all get a little bit nervous when it comes to this."

"Maybe I should head inside."

Claira looked at her and nodded very quickly.

"Erm, goodnight."

"Goodnight Sarah." David said as she jumped out of their car and ran back in to the house.

Claira looked down and laughed.

"What?"

"I'm sorry dad, but sometimes. Was I ever like that?"

"Do you want me to seriously answer that?"

She looked at him then they started to look back outside again.

Early that morning Claira went for a walk around the back of the out-house. She watched the sun starting to peep over the yardarm, which was starting to glint in her eyes. She turned round and rubbed her eyes.

"Morning."

She jumped up. "Ha? Sarah? Wha, what time is it?

"Nearly five, I think. Have you seen anything, yet?"

"No, nothing and it's too late now anyway."

They walked out of the out-house to a load clap that sounded like thunder.

"What was that?"

Claira looked around.

"Kids, get over here!" David said shouting.

They looked back to see a space ship flying in low and seemingly out of control.

"What's the matter with it?"

"It's in trouble, come on."

They ran back to the car and David as they watched it smash into the out-house.

"I want you kids to stay here. I have to call the authorities."

"But dad, that thing could blow."

"That's why I want you to stay here. Sarah, stay with your parents."

They watched him run back into the farmhouse.

"What do you think is happening inside there?"

"I don't know. I've never seen one so beaten up like this before. Maybe he had problems entering Earth's atmosphere. Look at the scorch marks."

Sarah now started to walk up to it.

"What are you doing? You heard my dad, he said stay here."

"There could be someone inside.

"Of course there could be someone inside, an alien. Sarah, come back!"

Claira now found herself following her into the smouldering barn and to one of the mangled legs of the ship.

"Hello?" Sarah said looking up.

"Sarah, are you mad? Their aliens, their here to…."

"To, what Claira? Take us over? One crumpled space ship, what can that do?"

"It's not the space ship, it's what's inside that…."

An alien now fell to the ground in front of them.

Claira pulled Sarah back.

"Lets get the hell out of here."

"No, he's glowing, what?" Sarah said moving forward.

"He's dying. They go like that just before they…."

"Dying? Well, we've got to help him, then."

"No! He's an alien!"

"He's a man that needs our help Claira, can't you see that."

Claira stared at him glowing in front of her.

The alien looked back at her.

"Please, please help me, I," He crumpled under the pain.

Sarah ran to his side.

Claira, I can't carry him all on my own, help me."

"No! My dad's going to be here any minute and he'll deal with him."

"There is a regeneration station not far from here. All I ask is that you help me get to it. I will not harm you in any way, please."

"Why should I help you, you're an alien, you…" Claira stared at him glowing red as she thought of her parents.

Sarah looked at her.

"Claira, what?"

She looked back.

"My dad is going to be coming out of that door any minute."

He stared at her.

"All I want to do is get away from here. If I can regenerate, another space ship will be here in three days. I can stay out of your way, I wont cause you any problem."

"That's what they all say. Who else is aboard that craft?"

"No-one. My pilot was killed in the landing."

"Is his body still in there?" Sarah asked looking at him.

"I wouldn't think so, Sarah. He burned up, right?"

The alien looked at her as he grimaced again.

"Claira?" Sarah said trying to hold up the alien.

She looked back.

"That regeneration centre? There are none in this area. The believers capped all of them last month."

"One still exists. If you could help me…."

"Help you?"

"If I don't I'm going to die. Do you want that at this precise moment?" He said looking at her.

Claira stared at him starting to glow again then thought about her father.

"Maybe not, because then, then I'd have more explaining to do than I have at the moment, I," She looked around. "Alright, I'll help you to the regeneration centre but that's all." She said going to his other side and helping him out of the barn and into the field.

They came through to a clearing and the alien looked around.

"It's through here."

"Why aren't you bleeding? You seem in so much pain." Sarah asked looking at him.

"We don't bleed. I have to hurry, please."

Sarah stopped and looked at him.

"Can we save the questions till after I've regenerated? I'd feel much better then."

Claira watched him struggling then they helped into the hut.

"We must have missed this one."

"It's location changes from time to time to keep one step ahead of the bureau."

"I'll have to let my dad know about this one."

The alien walked in and moved to the back checking the power.

"Good, it's still operational. Now, stay over there. I need to concentrate."

They stayed back as he moved to one of the tubes and it started to work. They watched as he started to regenerate and grow stronger.

"What's happening?"

"I've never really seen this before. My dad would know, but I think he's becoming human again, my god, what am I saying?" She said then ran outside.

"Claira, Claira, wait." Sarah said following her out.

She ran up to her.

"Is that what happens? Back there, he,"

Claira looked back as the alien came out and locked up the door. He now looked at them and smiled.

"Thank you."

She stared at him.

"I've got to get my dad. He must find out about you."

"He probably wont believe you now, Claira." He said taking out his ring and putting it on his little finger.

"What is it?" Sarah said grabbing her.

"It makes them look, so we don't find out that there," She turned away.

He stepped up to her.

"All I want to do is leave here. I wasn't even due to come here yet. You saw my ship crash; you saw what happened to me. A ship is coming for me in three days. If you can keep this secret for those three days no-one will be any the wiser."

"My dad will be the wiser when I tell him all about you."

"Go on, Claira, go and give me away to your dad. Tell him all about me, all about this place. Then it will all be a buzz with activity, can you handle the others finding out?"

"Others?" She said looking at him.

"Others like me. They'll come here and who knows what they'll do to keep our silence, to cap the hysteria once I've been found out by the adults."

Claira looked back through the trees.

"If we can keep this silent for two more nights, keep my identity away from the adults for that time, I promise that I will leave here and no-one will be any the wiser."

"My dad saw the ship land."

"All aliens died in the crash. You've seen us die. We were a crew of three and we all perished in the crash. Please, Claira, it's all I ask for."

Claira stared at him

"Claira, what are we going to do?"

"Two nights?

"The third night I will leave here and then you can tell anyone you want about me. I will not be bothering you again."

"Where are you going to stay? You're a new face, you'll be found out straight away."

"No he won't." Sarah said looking at him.

"Hurh?"

"My dad's been looking for a handyman for sometime now. The barn needs fixing up after that ship…" She stopped and looked at him.

"I think I understand what you mean. Has your dad got any materiel?"

"Yeah, it was delivered yesterday."

"Well, alright. I better get out of these coveralls and into something more acceptable."

They moved away from the hut and headed back into the field.

The police were now on scene checking over the barn with David.

"What are we going to do, their going to notice you?" Claira said kneeling down behind the barn.

"You two must get back in there or your parents are going to start wondering where you are."

"I'm going to tell dad, this is wrong. They'll find you out, I know they will."

He now grabbed her and held her down.

"Not if you do as I tell you."

Claira looked at his hand touching hers and quickly pulled it away.

David walked around the barn then noticed Claira and Sarah running in.

"Claira?"

They both stopped.

"Hi, Mr Vincent." Sarah said waving to him.

"Where have you two been? Sarah, your parents have been worried sick."

"We were just in the fields. We thought that we'd leave you to it. I mean, I have seen those saucers land here before." Sarah said looking at him.

David now looked at Claira.

"What about you?"

"Ha?"

"What have you got to say for your disappearing act?"

"We, we were just out playing dad. Have you turned up something?"

"No, not much. It looks like they all perished in the crash."

Claira looked back.

"Did they?"

"I've got to go Claira, you know." Sarah said running of.

David watched her go.

"You know, what?" He said looking back to Claira standing before him.

"Erm, nothing dad. We were just fooling around. Are the police finished with the barn, yet?"

David stared at her.

"Yes."

"Great, see ya later."

"Claira?"

She kept on running.

The alien watched from the back as David walked around.

Sarah grabbed some clothes from her parent's room and run back up to the alien.

"Will these do?"  
"Their great Sarah thanks. I better go get myself that job then."

He moved out through the barn to talk with Sarah's father.

Claira was by David's car when the alien walked past.

"Well, who's he?" David asked watching him talking with the farmer.

"I don't know." She said grabbing her ipod and jumping into the back of the car.

David moved up to him.

Sarah went to Claira.

"Claira, hey Claira what's your dad up to?"

"Why are you asking me?"  
"But, the alien…"

"Hey, he's on his own now. If he call fool my old man he can fool anyone." She said turning up the volume.

David followed him to the barn.

"So, he finally got himself some local help ha?"

The alien turned round.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, from what I've heard the farmer around here isn't known for getting in help. He kind of keeps himself to himself, if you know what I mean."

"In a way, so do I, Mr?"

"Vincent, David Vincent. I'm here with my daughter trying to find out what I can about the flying saucers buzzing around here lately." He said holding out his hand.

The alien looked at him then slowly took his hand and shook it.

"Steve O'Brien. I'm not interested in the local gossip. I'm here to fix said barn that your aliens seem to be buzzing."

"Oh, their not my aliens, their all our aliens, all our problems."

"Not mine, not interested, as I already said. Excuse me."

David let him go then turned round to see Claira and Sarah staring at him with their mouths open in amazement. He moved up to them.

"Anything wrong?"

"We, we were going to ask you the same question. What, what's going on?" Claira asked looking up at David looking down.

He now looked back at Steve.

"Nothing much. Come on."

They left the barn.

The next day Steve started early clearing the bails of hay from the landing area. Claira walked in munching on her breakfast. He noticed her.

"Oh, hi."

"Hi." She said then looked away.

Sarah now ran in.

"There you go Steve, ham and eggs, is that alright?"

"Oh, thanks Sarah."

"Sarah, what, what are you playing at, he's an alien!"

"A little louder please Claira, the next town didn't quite catch that."

Claira stared at him as he started to eat the sandwich. She slowly moved up to him.

"I remember my mum and dad when we had dinner that night they. When, they, they became my mum and dad."

"We can eat like you Claira, there's nothing wrong with our appetite."

They stared at each other.

"Claira." David said from outside the barn.

"Hurh, dad. That's my dad."

"I know. I've met him, remember." He said smiling at her.

Claira now snapped herself out of her trance and ran out.

Sarah watched her go then looked at Steve.

"Dad!" She said running up to him.

"I'm going into town to find out when the bureau are going to be here. Are you going to be alright here with Sarah, and…" He now looked towards the barn.

She looked down.

"Dad,"

"What?"

She looked up.

"Steve, he, he's a…."

"Claira?" Sarah said behind her.

She spun round.

"Are we going to help Steve today? He said that we could."

"I better not keep you from your work, then." David said kissing her then going to his car and driving away.

They watched him go.

"You were going to tell him, wasn't you?"  
"What?" She said moving back to the barn.

"You were going to give Steve away to your dad. Steve, Claira was going to tell Mr Vincent all about you."

"Well, she didn't, lets just leave it at that, ha?" He said starting on the bails again.

Claira stared at him as he worked.

"My dad's gone into town to check on where the bureau are. They might get here before tomorrow night. What are you going to do if they get here first?"

"Carry on like I am now. Do you notice anything different about me?"

"But, I have to tell them."

"Claira, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"I need to tell them about you. You're an alien, you're here to, to…"

"I told you before Claira, I just want to get off this planet and I will tomorrow night if you just keep your silence until then."

Claira stared at him then ran off. Steve noticed that she ran off into the fields.

He moved out to the jeep and jumped in. He sped off into the fields to find her.

Claira walked along the ridge as she noticed the jeep and who was driving it. She now set off along the top but Steve soon caught her up.

"Claira, slow down, will you?"

She now tripped and fell down the hill.

Steve pulled over and jumped out, running up to her.

"Stay away from me."

"Claira, you're bleeding, now take it easy." He said trying to stop her struggling with him.

"Claira." Sarah said running up to them. "What happened?"

"She fell over. I'll take her back to the farm and get her cleaned up." Steve said picking her up.

"Leave me alone, your all the same, you want to destroy us, kill us so you can have, have my home. Mum and dad, they… they."

"What's she saying, Mr O'Brien?"

"Claira had alien parents for a while until Vincent took her away. I've got to get her back to the farmhouse." He said picking her up and putting her into the jeep.

Steve drove back and grabbed a medical kit as he treated her wombs.

"Dad?"

"Take it easy Claira, you're alright."

David pulled up outside and was alerted to Claira. He ran into the house.

"Claira?"

"She took a tumble on the ridge but I've managed to stop the bleeding."

David moved forward.

"You don't bleed, you're an alien." She said mumberling.

Steve stared at her.

"What's she talking about?" He said looking back to Steve.

"I've no idea. She's been in and out of consciousness since this happened." Steve said moving away.

David now held her and made sure that she was okay.

Sarah followed him out to the barn.

"Is Claira going to be alright, Mr O'Brien?"

"She took quite a tumble but she's a fighter. A few days rest and she will be fine."

"A few days, but you go tomorrow night."

Steve looked at her.

The next morning Claira awoke late and tried to get out of the bed that David had found for her.

"Hey, where do you think your going?" He said moving forward.

"Dad? Mr O'Brien, where is he?"

"Working, probably. How do you feel?"

She held her head then closed her eyes.

"Get some more sleep."

"What time is it?"

"Claira, are you listening to me? Just relax and get some sleep. I'll check on you later."

"But, Steve, he."

"You can thank him when you're better. He's not going anywhere, is he?"

"Yes, yes, he is, he's…." Claira's head now started to hurt as she went unconscious again.

David looked at her then looked back.

Steve finished his duties for the day and wiped his forehead as David walked in.

"Evening."

"Hello." Steve said looking at him. "Your daughter okay?"

"Fine. In fact she was more concerned about you."  
Steve laughed. "Really? Erm, you may want to get the doctor out again for her."

"Why would my kid be concerned about you?"

"I have no idea. I'm just a no-body, Mr Vincent."

"A no-body? Well, you must be somebody for my daughter to take an interest in you."

"I just save lives Mr Vincent and yesterday your daughter looked like she needed her life saving."

"Are you sure there's nothing else to it?"

"Nothing else. Excuse me."

David watched him move out of the barn.

A while later, Steve managed to make it into Claira's bedroom and checked on her.

"Mr O'Brien." Sarah said moving up behind him.

"Oh, hi, Sarah."

"How is she?"

"She looks okay."

"It's dark outside."  
"Yeah, I know. They will be here soon. I better get ready. When she wakes up, you let her know, let her know how sorry I am for all that's happened."

"I will."

He now went out.

David watched from another room as Steve left.

Later that night the space ship came in low over the fields and landed in the hut. Steve moved over to it and into the craft.

He went up to the flight deck to see a black sedan drive down the lane.

"What's going on?"

"This place has been found out by the bureau. The whole area is being wiped clean. We have a team working on the family now."

"No, David and Claira Vincent are down there. Do you know what will happen if you…"

"The bureau have too much information on this site, we have no choice."

David now noticed the ship as he ran out. The black sedan now pulled up and the men now moved into the farmhouse.

Sarah ran into Claira's room and woke her up.

"Claira, there here."

"Hurh."

"Those men. The men you talked about. There's a black sedan outside."

"Black sedan?" She said jumping up. "Where's my dad?"

"Outside. The space ship is also out there."

"The space ship, Steve O'Brien…"

"Yes, he's already in the ship."

"We've got to stop them taking off, come on."

The children now run out missing the aliens by inches.

Steve watched Claira and Sarah run out of the farmhouse.

"That's Claira Vincent."

"Our team are dealing with it. Prepare to lift off."

Steve looked at him.

Claira ran past David and to the steps of the ship.

"Steve, Steve are you in there? The black sedan is here. Do you understand what they're going to do, Steve please, help us. Help me, Steve, please, like we helped you, remember?"

"Claira?" David said running up to her. "It's going to take off."

Steve now grabbed a gun and fired on the fellow alien and watched him die. He now ran to the entrance and jumped down.

"Steve!" She said hugging him.

David now stared at him then took out his gun.

"Stay where you are."  
"I can't Mr Vincent, I'm sorry but that black sedan means that we're wiping this area clean. If I don't stop them in time, wait a minute, Sarah, where is she?" He said looking around.

A scream now filled the air.

They all ran into the farmhouse as the aliens were coming out. Steve fired on them and they disappeared. He now ran into to find Sarah in the corner by the ashes of her parents.

He moved up to her and grabbed hold of her.

"It's alright, it's okay."

David and Claira now run in and looked at him.

EPILOG

The bureau arrived as the sun started to appear over the yardarm. Steve carried a sleepy Sarah out towards the ship.

"That is certainly going to keep the bureau happy for a week or so. An intact space ship on the driveway." David said looking on.

"I guess they'll probably be probing me for the week after that." He said looking at him.

David stared at him.

"Well, I don't know about that. I think that we can talk them round to accepting you on the team, if that is what you want?"

He looked at him then Claira.

"Erm, would you want me?"

"I think the kids would." David said holding out his hand.

Steve now looked at his hand then quickly shook it.

Claira now stepped forward and hugged him.

"Now you know that's a confirmed yes."

They all started to laugh then looked out to the space ship now getting the once over from the bureau team.

THE END


End file.
